


Avatar: The Assassin's Conspiracy

by LeftHandPath



Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, F/M, Original Character(s), Possible Character Death, Possible Explicit Sexual Content, Torture
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-11-05
Updated: 2015-08-11
Packaged: 2018-02-24 04:17:48
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 24
Words: 62,622
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2567933
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LeftHandPath/pseuds/LeftHandPath
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>After a hundred years of ruinous war in his absence The Avatar has returned to save the world from the relentless attacks of the firelords - particularly Ozai, the incumbent, who seems even crueller than his genocidal sires. When the Fire Nation's top assassin turns against her master, does that mean a powerful new ally for Team Avatar, or are the differences in methods and aims too great?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. The Other Attack

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Sigynthefaithful](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sigynthefaithful/gifts).



> This story is an alternate history type continuity for Nickelodeon's Avatar: The Last Airbender (all rights reserved and so on), starting with the end of Season 1 (Water).  
> By necessity, the tone is a lot darker, and almost from the start you'll get naked violence and murder without censorship. Team Avatar will be confronted with the actual brutality of war and murderous conspiracy - and with more airbenders.  
> Team Avatar aren't featured that much at the start but they'll still be central to the story and heavily developed.
> 
> I'd love to hear your comments and impressions!
> 
> Important update (05/04/2015): Since I found out that the names of Mai's parents are revealed as Ukano and Michi in the upcoming Smoke and Shadow comic, I feel compelled to update them here. The names I picked for them were taken off a list of Chinese names on the 'Net so they're throwaways.

The Fire Navy vessel accurately described for her each wave that hit its prow and sides, despite the relatively calm seas and the huge size of the vessel. Either it was so poorly built that it shook and resonated from the waves, or the sea itself was hostile to the invading army. Spirits?

The woman dismissed that thought – General Iroh's influence, no doubt. He may be an exceedingly clever man and the spirits may exist1, but they had no bearing on her life and her mission. She refocused her half-closed eyes to the portrait in front of her – a black-haired man in Water Tribe blues with the same colour eyes, with ample wrinkles but no gray, an impressive pair of cheekbones and a pair of tightly plaited and decorated locks falling in front of his ears where a Fire National's sideburns might have been: Arnook, the chief of the Water Tribe – her target.

Enraged at the news that the Northern Water Tribe was the first state to commit long-term to helping the re-emerged Avatar, Firelord Ozai had thrown the greater part of the Fire Nation's navy at it: a massive armada led by his top flunky of the day, Admiral Zhao, to crush the Tribe in general and the master firebender Xiang Michi, old Firelord Azulon's “Golden Girl” – his favourite student and principal assassin – to go after Arnook in particular.

Azulon had always set her onto pirates, tyrants and bandits (the old man's most dangerous opponents) and sent lesser operatives like Yon Rha and his Southern Raiders to slaughter the lambs2. Ozai now set her upon Arnook, a good man by all accounts, a man who left well enough alone and never attacked. Michi had reckoned it was not her place to tell the Firelord that the old master Pakku, the best living waterbender and the most aggressive and hostile of Arnook's councillors to the Fire Nation, had more than enough clout to rally the Tribe if Arnook was killed. She definitely wasn't telling Ozai or anyone in his inner circle about _Sangok._

Her chest heaved in the deep rhythm of firebending meditation. Wavy heat issued from her nose when she exhaled. Outwardly, the woman lotus-sitting in front of the small portrait was unimpressive – a gaudily-dressed lady of the minor nobility, with the Fire Nation's best features – light tan, jet black hair, amber eyes and a tall, lithe frame. She wore gold and jade jewels rich enough to suggest upward mobility; she was even known as a vapid social climber, the wife of a middle-ranking civil servant, the female half of a pair of parvenus who had caught the Firelord's eye. A woman with absolutely no business on a war vessel heading toward the largest military operation since General Iroh's 600-day siege of Ba Sing Se.

In the ship's manifesto she figured as Aya, the “personal physician” – a paramour – of the fleet's commander, Admiral Zhao, but she had nothing but contempt for the admiral – also she was currently faithful to her husband.

Arnook's portrait ignited under her steady gaze. An orange ember formed at its centre, spreading outward, leaving only brittle blackness behind. There was no flame.

 

The ship lurched again and there was a sound of tensioned metal releasing. The catapults had been fired, but there was no alarm. Michi opened her eyes and called out: “Insun!”

Her assistant rushed out of the cabin's bedroom. Travelling under the name of May-May, Asa's “nurse,” Insun was a mousy girl, a head shorter than Michi and slight of frame even next to the lithe Fire Nation noblewoman, with brown hair and ashen eyes.

“Get your glider,” said Michi. “I think it is time.”

Insun cringed, making herself even smaller: “Y-yes ma'am.”

 

She walked up to the main observation deck in silence and long strides, with Insun scurrying behind her, carrying a long, strange staff which seemed to have moving parts tucked inside.

There were two men there, each probably giving her at least fifty pounds: the tall admiral and the stout general. They were observing the bombardment of the city.

“Ah, there you are,” said Zhao playfully. He liked to pretend she was Aya.

“I keep telling you, Admiral, I'm too good for the likes of you,” said Michi coldly. Then she bowed to the other man: “General Iroh.”

Zhao bristled, but said nothing. He had more important fish to fry.

“Lady Xiang,” the older man said with an equal bow. Then he turned to the terrified Insun, smiled warmly and bowed again: “Miss Kong.”

Insun bowed so deeply and suddenly she nearly fell on her face; in fact, a wave of her staff righted her from an impossible position. Zhao wasn't even noticing her, but Iroh narrowed his eyes.

Michi folded her arms behind her back and regarded the bombardment as well. It was little more than a glove thrown in provocation to the vast city before the fleet – a stepped metropolis, at least the equal of the Fire Nation's Capital City3, dug into the sheer, thousand foot tall wall of the permanent glacier. “I see you've greeted our friends in blue as well,” she said. “I could do with less eyes on me. That place is a beehive! Another _genocide_ , admiral?”

Iroh scowled. Michi knew he absolutely loathed any unnecessary bloodshed and, since the death of his son, he wasn't all too keen on the necessary kind either. The thought was unwise. A cold pang of pain gripped her chest when she remembered Lu Ten.

“Don't worry, General, we'll play this by your method this time,” said Zhao, irritated. “Gut the leadership and benders then force the rest to submit. After all, we only want them to remember our place in the world – and accept _theirs._ ”

For a brief moment Iroh opened his mouth like he was about to gainsay the admiral over something, but he relented and looked away – straight at the moon as it was emerging over the horizon. “It's almost twilight, Admiral,” he said instead, with urgency but no hostility. “As your military consultant I must advice you to hold your attack. The waterbenders draw their power from the Moon and it is nearly full tonight! You should wait and resume the attack at daybreak.”

The admiral turned to him: “Oh I'm well aware of the moon problem and I'm working on a solution – but for now, daybreak it is. All ships to cease the bombardment and drop anchors!”

A previously-unseen adjutant rushed out to deliver the order.

“I think I should catch some sleep now and proceed at midnight,” said Michi and parroted the Firelord: “You'll have an easier time against a headless tribe.”

Iroh hesitated ever so slightly before answering: “I agree. Chief Arnook may not be a waterbender but his removal would be a big coup for us.” He quickly changed the subject with a big yawn and stretch: “I think we could all use a little sleep about now.”

He'd told Michi his real views on the problem in private: Arnook had never wronged anyone in the Fire Nation, Ozai had no right to interfere with him and especially not to order a hit on him and Michi was duty-bound as a member of the ruling class and a mother to disobey such a criminal and dishonourable order, even while seeming to accept it for safety reasons.

Michi gave the two men the Fire Nation salute4, turned on her heels and returned to her room as quickly as she'd come out, with Insun in tow. The ashes from Arnook's portrait had disappeared; Insun immediately noted this. “I didn't ask anyone to clean that up, Milady; if that horrible admiral's personnel are this efficient, they probably have good odds against the Northern Water Tribe.” She was dejected and clearly thought Michi had cause to be as well: “What then?”

“Their odds are zero,” said Michi, as unflappably confident as ever. “Even if I'm successful Admiral Horrible isn't coming out of this alive. More than nine in ten of the Northern Water Tribe's people are in that city: 150,000 at least; one in ten a waterbender of which at least a quarter are combat trained – plus the Avatar. It's one day and night to the full moon, in _winter. 5_”

Insun smiled a little, pretty smile. “That's a relief, I guess, but won't the Admiral escape when he's defeated?”

Michi's smile was big and wicked. “Could you make us some Tienchi flower tea? Anyway, maybe he will; then Ozai will change his name to Admiral Bonfire, have me do it or at least _allow_ me to do it.” Her countenance soured: “That way I can get back to enjoying my work.”

“If you don't want to kill this Chief Arnook person, then don't,” said Insun cheerily as she started to brew the tea. “You're the sneakiest person I know; I'm sure you can get away with it!”

“Thanks, but even I am not sneaky enough to hide a major world leader. Besides, I may not want the Tribe to fall, but poor Arnook doesn't figure into that anything like as much as he'd like. He's not worth risking everything just to spare him.” She scowled and looked at the cold weather suit her servants had packed for her, which now waited on a mannequin with wide brass tubes inside it to make it easy for a firebender to warm up whatever was on it. It was white quilt, enormously thick, the outer layer of polar bear-dog pelt. The soles of the boots were three inches at their thinnest and the jacket's stuffed shoulders and hood made even the willowy Michi look enormous when she wore it.

Insun gave a sad little sigh and focused on the tea.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

1The Avatar-verse Spirit World is a separate plane(?) that includes the afterlives and can be accessed by meditation, depending on one's affinity with the Spirits and location in the physical world. Iroh entered the Spirit World once in his lifetime; this seems to have hurt his rep in the Fire Nation.

2For example, taking out the new final waterbender in a Southern Water village when she hadn't done anything of note.

3The FN Capital is built inside a caldera, limiting its growth; the Northern Water Tribe acts like a civilization of some substance and their city gives off a Minas Tirith Lite vibe so I'm taking some liberty with its size.

4A Chinese-style bow with hands together, the right fist held just under the vertically aligned left palm rather than against it to form a stylized flame.

5Head canon: a very large preindustrial city with the Arctic climate countered by waterbender logistics. As for the high waterbender percentage, the NWT is mentioned as being deeply spiritual and built right next to a very important spirit-related site (the Pond) with another close by. Spirituality is explicitly linked to the incidence of bending-capable in a population: the monastic Air Nomads are described in canon as 100% airbenders specifically because they're the most spiritual people.


	2. Five Steps

With the Northern Water Tribe and Zhao's fleet staring at each other across the ocean-side approach to the city, nobody noticed when, around midnight, a large flying object scaled the ice cliff miles away. The near-polar winter1 made the night long and dark but the moon lit it well enough.

The cliff prevented the worst of the polar winds sweeping into the city and onto the fleet, but up on top of it Michi and Insun were almost blown off by its force. The cold was awesome – that was why Michi had donned the special thick quilt – not even the Water Tribes wore such heavy suits, though they probably didn't need _quite_ so much protection. Together with the rope, drill, food, water and grappling hook stowed inside it was a good 70 jin, over half of Michi 's weight.

Insun began to shiver straight away.

“What are you waiting for?” Michi hissed at her. “Airbend yourself back down! This wind will kill you inside fifteen minutes! Extraction here, at midday.”

The loud mention of her extremely rare ability jolted Insun into obeying. As far as she knew there were only fifteen airbenders alive including herself, the Avatar _and_ his sky bison.

She jumped off the cliff and only opened up her folding glider and began to bend air under it when she'd tumbled halfway to the ocean. Michi only turned away when she was sure Insun was safe and marched into the wind with a proud, straight posture. The pampered lady-wannabe the high society back home thought her to be would've hardly been able to walk against that wind, but Michi was all sinew and lean muscle. Her husband often lamented her utter lack of spare flesh.

Michi's pre-plotted arched path was fifteen miles long across flat terrain – a walk of less than four hours normally2, but the wind took two more in tribute before Michi found herself overlooking the chief's palace, the last building in the city's main compartment. There was a passageway through the hole leading to a cult site with a highly incongruous green meadow in it, but Michi sneered at it and turned away.

The palace was an ornate ice pagoda of nine tiers, the bottom being massive and the others, increasingly small. The last was hardly more than an observatory, decorated with the Tribe's symbol, taller than any man. At this point the city floor was only two hundred feet off the ground and the palace itself one hundred. She could see the small figures of the guards patrolling. No doubt they were trained to look up, but Michi had accounted for that.

She opened her coat and pulled out a thick coil of rope, two hundred feet long with a big knot every foot and a grappling hook made of best Fire Nation steel dipped in a layer of crude, pitted and matt pig iron and the two foot drill with a T handle at end.

She brushed off the snow from a spot a good ten yards away from the cliff overlooking the palace, until she uncovered the first layer of truly hard ice and pushed down the drill, spinning it painstakingly into the ice – she dared not bring a piton which would have to be beat, or firebend.

It took another two hours to drive in the drill and execute five swings down of the grappling hook, with the painstaking chore of pulling it back up eating into the night, until on the fifth it caught and she could pull the cord tight, bind it onto the T-handle and secure it from chafing on the cliff's edge with her left mitten. By that time the night's darkness was beginning to come undone as the still-hidden sun was seeing about rising.

When Michi stripped off the quilt hooded jacket, mittens and trousers, keeping only the boots, she was left in a thin full-body suit that covered her from head to knee in midnight blue hemp, but it was thin and the shock of the Arctic winter's full power almost drove her to her knees. Michi used the breath of fire to mitigate the shock, turning away to block any chance that the multi-coloured wisps of flame she breathed out would be spotted from below – in fact, she wouldn't want to be seen creating such flames by pretty much anyone in the Fire Nation. They were a heretical relic of the distant past3. Then she pulled down the balaclava so that only her eyes were visible.

She checked the dagger with knuckle duster hand-guard and the steel tonfa with leather-wrapped handles tucked in her sash and began to climb down the rope with the quick, confident moves of long practice. She blended in well with the night sky, so the guards missed her.

Before long, Michi was squeezing through one of the palace's round windows. They were only secured with a thin layer of ice formed by waterbenders and a firebender with good enough control could easily heat them up so that they warped and tore in almost complete silence and with few drops of water hitting the floor, if any. As far as Michi knew there were only two firebenders with good enough control: her and General Iroh.

Once inside, she could see that the room wasn't an observatory, but a storage vault for precious items. She left them aloneand descended through the palace. The top levels of the palace were the various bedrooms – empty but for a few young serving girls, who were attending to their tasks. All too small for their clothes to fit her.

Michi slipped past them unnoticed, but she was fuming: Arnook was probably awake and maybe he had left the palace!

Fifth floor, first guard: an obviously well-fed man with a jawbone spear4 and many bone ornaments on his parka, patrolling up the stairs. Michi noticed him in time to step back, draw the weapons (dagger in the right, tonfa in the left) and prepare an exact pounce. She led with a right hook that stunned him and half-turned him around. A follow-up shove with the tonfa completed the turn and she stabbed him in the back, turning his would-be scream into an air-deprived gasp. She caught the falling spear with her foot before it could clatter down the ice stairs and stabbed again, this time making sure to hit the heart, then gingerly pulled him down and caved in his temple with two brutal swipes of the tonfa.

Michi sped away from her victim, almost gliding down the stairs, to check the next floor. The conspicuous body reshaped the game; she began to form a step by step plan that started after Arnook was found (awake, alert and guarded, she presumed), while scouring the palace.

Moments after it was complete she found a taller girl, who was busy wrapping up a bedroll when Michi unceremoniously came up from behind and caved her head in with a single strike, stripped off her dress and put it on. She also pulled the balaclava up and dearly hoped the tribe's potentates and soldiers were as used to ignoring their servants as those of the Fire Nation, while re-running the plan in her head.

Her luck held; as she moved down the last levels looking for the chief, nobody came within three yards of her, nobody looked directly (Michi averted her face whenever people showed up, knowing that human faces will draw the attention of humans).

Finally she found Arnook on the first floor, chatting over finished breakfast with some of his noblemen, or what passed for such in the tribe, his white-haired teen daughter Yue and a wiry old man with a bald pate atop a Water Tribe mane, a short goatee and long, thin moustache – Pakku.

At that moment a pair of guards rushed into the room – ignoring Michi as one of them brushed her shoulder – and made gasping noises at the chief about the dead guard and servant. Michi made herself small in a niche near the doorway as she overheard the orders to scour the place of the murderer with a satisfied smirk. She began to go over her plan again.

Pakku was advising Arnook to get out of the palace but that nobody else should be allowed to leave. Michi finished the recap and forced herself to remember the outside layout of the palace and where this private dining room fit in regarding the nearest corner. Then she acted.

 

_Step one: distract, divide guards._

Michi screamed a scared-sounding “Hey, who are you” at nobody and heel-fire-kicked the wall into a mess of ice shards, scalding water droplets and steam. She deliberately collapsed in the hallway and started pointing at the staircase.

A torrent of waterbending drenched her and covered her in bits of ice and slush; Pakku rushed through just in time to see a tall, fallen girl yell blue murder about a firebender going down the stairs. When he saw the pointing hand he didn't look to notice the oddities of her clothes, but ordered three men by their names to pursue and one more to look after the girl, before running back into the room to protect his chief5.

_Step two: approach target._

The man wondered briefly at the dark blue cloth peaking out from under the girl's dress and the cap of the same material on her head indoors, but focused on drying her. He bent the water out of her clothes so well that she was practically dry when he helped her up. He was leaning down, about to see her face, her eyes; it was now or never.

She pulled the balaclava back down and drew the dagger.

“What the-?” asked the man. The dagger flew into his throat, pierced the thin base of the skull and killed him instantly.

She pulled it out and held the twitching corpse up so that his arm flapped in front of her face: “Master Pakku! Master Pakku! There's something wrong with him!”

Pakku turned on his heels furiously: “Tui and La, what now?”

Michi flung the body at his petulant bark; he caught it halfway with a quickly-bent water tentacle, but Michi quickly pounced to the side and followed with a fire-blast.

The old master's reaction was frightfully quick, but just barely not quick enough. He pulled a loop of his water-tentacle in the blast's path, blocking most of it, but a few flicks of flame got into his eyes. Blinded and in great pain for the briefest moment, he gasped and brought up his hands.

_Step three: kill target, secure proof._

By now the other five men in the room were reacting; they included two more waterbenders and chief Arnook; they all snarled and attacked, but Michi dodged the water and ice shards they threw at her, bent a fire-whip in the same motion and smacked Pakku across the pate with it leaving a black sear and flung him at the others' feet, tripping all of them. She quickly charged a bolt of lightning and sent it straight into Arnook's ear, from less than two yards.

He yowled horribly and twitched and Michi flung herself on top of the men to plunge the dagger into that same ear. Her knee on his face helped her pull it out and tear the tooth necklace with the large disk bearing the moon and ocean sigil of his tribe off the dying chief.

_Step four: escape guards' grasp._

She writhed like an eel, putting blade, knees and elbows into anything that moved, trying to get up. Men cursed; hands and moving water and ice tried to engulf her. Pakku lunged like a snake and straddled her back, trying to apply a rear naked choke as he flailed his head and feet to bend the floor to pin her and stab her, but Michi's arms were free and she charged up lightning again – properly this time, ignoring all else to do this one thing right.

They were all touching her, at most through thin cloth or water. She pressed the dagger's blade to her own left flank over the head of the man who was pulling her down by the waist, released the lightning and wrestled it into each of the men through her own body, avoiding in her own body the heart, the head, the small of the back and the left buttock and leg on which most of her weight was.

The awful shock of the pain would have killed a lesser woman by itself. Her daughter's difficult birth had lasted half a day but never even came close to the intensity of this moment. Michi stretched her mouth as wide as it could go in a silent gasp of pain, but she stood her ground as the men, all unable to control the current, yelped and fell away, twitching and useless for a few seconds.

It was all Michi needed. She had done this to herself before and knew it was coming, so she made her escape, tearing open the thin, transparent ice of the window with a fire-blast that was about a fourth of the size she usually produced and lunged out with her arms and one good leg, face-checking the roof of the more expansive ground level.

_Final step (five): Confuse pursuit and distance self._

At once, she rolled to her left, toward the closest corner, stood up and willed herself to summon a better fire-blast, which tore a large hole through the ice in the roof. Below, an older woman was suddenly drenched in warm water and yelped in fright. Michi rounded the corner.

 

Seconds later, Pakku expanded the hole and launched himself outside onto a thick wave of water that he controlled and made solid enough to sustain him. Seeing the hole, he snarled and hurled most of his water in, widening it and drawing another yelp from the drenched woman.

He vaulted down, followed by the other waterbenders. He quickly dried up the woman and grabbed her by the collar: “Where did she go?”

The woman stared blankly: “Who?”

After five seconds that felt like five days, Pakku understood and roared: “She's going UP!”

 

Michi tucked Arnook's necklace into her blouse and climbed the palace at a frantic pace, clawing the ice, using even the meanest grip to power herself upward. The feeling had returned to her right leg. It was weak but useful.

Her only thought now was escape. Fighting the old master face to face like so many of her nationals would have done was out of the question. Pakku had every advantage: the terrain was ice, the almost-full moon was up, the weather was deathly cold, he had help and motivation; worst of all, he was used to straight bouts from a lifetime of sparring with students and conventional battles against the Fire Nation, where Michi was more of a knife in the back person.

The old master scaled the palace quickly on a rising torrent of water, his students trailing far behind. “ _Face me_ , coward!” he shouted.

Michi clambered over the giant Water Tribe sigil, grabbed and unfastened the hook with one hand then the rope behind its first knot with the other and jumped off. “Firelord Ozai sends his regards!” she shouted back in a hoarse voice, as she tucked one of the hook's three beaks in the belt. Michi normally found taunting one's enemies in combat impractical and distasteful, but it was important that the Northern Water Tribe have no doubt as to who they should hate for this attack. “Ball's in your court now, Sangok,” she muttered to herself.

 

Pakku roared like an angry leopard; his surge brought him higher than Michi briefly, but she was rapidly pumping her arms to climb up the rope and the water at the base of Pakku's wave flowed down the other side of the palace. He made a desperate grab at the loop of rope that had formed beneath the assassin, but only managed to brush it with a fingertip before falling with his wave. He landed neatly, howled at everyone to attack the assassin and led by example, bending and launching an icicle. At that moment, the top of the sun poked up over the horizon.

Michi shot a fire-blast with her good leg, blocking and melting it; other icicles and thrown spears rained upwards at her, but most came far short and the rest were wide. Pakku and most of the others turned their attention to the south, where Zhao's navy was attacking again. As Michi fell in toward the wall, she reversed the left leg's firebending move into another one at the ice, this time creating a more prolonged jet of fire that didn't leave her foot and slowed her down.

She hardly felt the jolt in the knee and elbows which struck the wall and went back to climbing up. In almost no time she was up over the ledge and the blizzard smacked into her, howling like Death, but the sun had cleared the horizon and through all the cold and clouds she felt a faint but vital pick-me-up of warmth and light.

It steeled her and she set about looping back the rope, then melted the ice around the drill to recover it too. She left it bound to the rope, which she then wore like a baldric, with the metal pieces hanging like weapons on it. With the rush of combat dying down, every part of her body was racked with pain, but she pushed it on relentlessly. The escape wasn't finished. Michi was a firebender and aristocrat. She existed to do what ordinary meat-bags couldn't – as did the boy who took a fighting stance when he saw her.

 

 

 

 

 

1The Siege of the North occurs around the turn of the year, which is in the Northern hemisphere's winter months in both the Western and Chinese calendars. The day/night cycle in the Season 1 finale seems to indicate very short days (and very short nights but one of them has to give and Arctic winter means long nights). In my head canon the day is about 5-6 hours, the night about 18-19, and Zhao's invasion force is maybe 20-30 thousand (certainly even he isn't enough of an idiot to assault a city without outnumbering its trained armed defenders several times over, and Aang's initial 12 warships are apparently peanuts to him) with about 20% firebenders – a much higher incidence than in the general population and even the NWT because of cultural pressure for firebenders to join the military.

2For the very fit.

3The only time this is seen in the show is when draconic firebending masters display it. In my head canon it's possible for people to make it as well (why not; Azula can make the consistently extra-hot blue fire), but the knowledge was lost when or before the Fire Nation turned against the dragons. Michi spent a lot more time with them than Zuko and Aang's one short session. Iroh probably wouldn't have stayed long enough either.

4Despite their urban sophistication the Northern Water Tribe exhibits few apparent iron items and grindstones; those spears don't look like metal to me.

5A few days with Katara shouldn't be enough to break a _lifetime_ habit of discounting women (especially palace servant girls) as dangerous.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Edit, 18/03/15: edited out the English language fail in the description of Arnook's palace.


	3. When people try to forget the war...

Dressed in white as he was, she hadn't noticed him at first: a teenager, as thin as her, without the substance of a man grown. His head was bare, revealing a ponytail, various cuts and bruises and a unique burn scar around his left eye. He'd carried something on his back but dropped it to take his stance. It was another boy – dressed in monk's robes, bound, his eyes and the arrows of an Air Nomad airbending master glowing brightly.

It was custom to prostrate oneself for members of the royal family. So she did and said, loud enough to carry through the blizzard: “Good morning, Prince Zuko. I see we both hunted well last night.”

The prince was surprised but responded quickly and audibly: “Who are you? What are you doing here?”

Michi righted herself quickly – the timing of an elite warrior in the Firelord's inner circle, closer than the Imperial Fiebenders not a lady of dubious rank, revealed her face and looked him in the eye and said proudly: “I am Xiang Michi, once known as Azulon's Golden Girl. I killed the local chief on your father's orders. My daughter Mai1 might have mentioned me in passing.”

“Lady Michi? _You'_ re Mai's mom? She told me her mother was all about Court manners and getting her father promoted – how come she never told me who you really were?”

“One the my daughter's few pleasures is the thought that I'm really nothing much,” said Michi with a slightly strained smile; “can't help but notice, you've captured... is that the Avatar? The Firelord will be most pleased to see you return with his head. Any reason it's still attached to the rest of the boy?”

Zuko had never given much thought to the fate of the Avatar once he was delivered to his father, but imagined it would be highly unpleasant. Still, the way Michi talked so casually about killing a child sent shivers down his spine that had nothing to do with the unholy weather. “My father sent me to capture the Avatar, not kill him2! I'm not about to misinterpret his orders and end up as your next hit!”

Michi shrugged and cleared the snow off her quilted suit and warmed up their insides (and herself) with breath of fire. “As you say, Prince. Anyway, please accept this humble gift. I came here through the blizzard in these; it wasn't exactly a sauna but it's not that flimsy outfit you're wearing either. There's food and water in the inside pockets.”

Zuko couldn't help a longing look at the clothes, but quickly turned away: “Thanks, but I don't need any help,” he said petulantly.

Michi scowled a little, picked up the clothes and thrust them into his chest, forcing him to take a step back and grab them: “I'm not about to walk out of here in warm clothes and let a teenager freeze to death, young man! I can't share my extraction with you, more's the pity, so this is the least I can do.” She stood on her toes, hugging him unexpectedly, leaned in and kissed his forehead: “And please don't die; _I_ 've ended enough good lives today.” With that, she gave the stunned prince the Fire Nation salute, turned on her heels and took off at a jog.

The Fire Prince was frozen in place briefly, then took a step forward: “Hey, wait! Stop! Lady Xiang, I told you to stop!”

She'd made good distance and was fading into the raging snow. It was entirely reasonable that she hadn't heard him – and she could perform breath of fire, so maybe she could make it out of the blizzard. Zuko's focus turned back to the Avatar. He put on the heavy winter gear – it was indeed very warm – and bent some fire over the boy, careful not to singe him, the clothes or especially the rope he was bound with. Then he picked him up and tossed him on the right shoulder. A periodic fire once-over should keep the frostbite and pneumonia to a minimum3.

 

Insun took her leave of the admiral's flagship much earlier than was necessary for Michi's midday deadline. When the assault on the Tribe's ice city had begun with characteristic Fire Nation ferocity, the din of war had wasted no time in reaching and tormenting the young airbender.

She was no monk, rather a Fire Nation commoner with Air Nomad escapades in her ancestry but even the Fire Nation's militaristic and mandatory state education had completely failed to instil any sort of warrior spirit in her. Michi too was protective of her, keeping her as much as possible out of the violence, so when she heard the noise of explosions and the loudest splashes, ice shatters and clashes of massed arms, they tormented her and caused her to clutch her ears.

Before long her patience had been eroded away and she ran up to the officer of the watch with the written order for assistance, in the hand and with the seal of the Firelord himself, and asked for a row-boat. Before long, she was rowing away from the battle and the racket.

She was challenged five more times by warships who sent their own boat crews to board her, but the order, and the lack of any significant supplies or survival gear (her glider staff didn't count, and it was built apurpose in a different, more ornate style than the late Air Nomad types, and larger – fully seven feet long) with her convinced them to let her pass. She found some small comfort in the irony of being allowed away from the horror of war by an order of Ozai's; no doubt, had Michi been able to give him a more exact timetable for the mission he would have written it in and Insun would have to wait in the ship until the appointed time.

From the morning's distance, the racket was a distant rumble, the city barely visible as a small irregularity in the icy cliff where from time to time she might see a thin darkening of smoke or the tiniest spark of fire. Insun moored the boat to an icy ledge and climbed on it; a local colony of seals with tortoise shells on their backs made a racket at her but didn't flee at first, probably because she didn't have the scent of the Northern Water Tribe and her winter jacket was brown, not blue.

They dispersed quickly enough when she started a vivacious airbending kata to warm herself up, even blowing some of them off the ice by negligence. That done, she took up the glider, made a few warm-up loops and soared up to the cliff's edge to look for Michi. It was still a good hour ahead of time but with the blizzard mellowing she could actually get some decent flying done.

The firebender proved easy enough to spot. For one thing she wasn't wearing any of the white Arctic gear and her flimsy night-mission blues stuck out like a sore thumb in the endless, eye-hurting whiteness. For another, there was an almost permanent flicker of flame issuing from her, in all colours of the rainbow at their brightest.

Insun found Michi a shivering, self-hugging, slouched, feet-dragging wreck whose every laboured breath came out with dragon-fire, the only thing keeping her up and about in the still very bitter cold. But when the airbender screamed her name in horror, Michi gave a start and straightened immediately, chin proudly up, hands folded behind her. She pulled down the balaclava eye-slit's lower lip until it revealed her whole face.

“Michi!” Insun shrieked again, landing nearby without her usual soft neatness. “What happened to you? Where's the winter coat?”

“I gave it away,” said Michi, trying but failing to affect the careless superiority of an aristocrat; “you _do_ keep nagging me about charity.” A brilliant plume of fire issued from her nose.

Insun ran up to her and began to fuss with her like a mother hen, checking her hands and feet for frostbite (a bit on all extremities, none on the feet thanks to the boots), then taking off the loop of knotted rope to use it as a makeshift harness, because Michi certainly couldn't be trusted to hang on to her during flight in her condition. The firebender had a few choice words to say about that but Insun's chatter drowned them down. She carried on during the final preparations and take-off about how Michi was not being the sensible one of the pair despite her thirty-nine years to Insun's twenty-one and what would their children do without their mother? Tom-tom wasn't even two years old!

After failing to get even a word in edgewise Michi endured the rest of the lecture and fussing in silence and the two women returned to the flagship without incident.

With big smiles and half-horrible, half-comedic, thinly-veiled threats Insun got a brazen tub of hot, clean water from the ship's crew. Bathing, feeding, patching and doing Michi up was an old ritual; she'd grown up doing it, especially the final and most difficult part: the complex Courtly hairdo secured with silver pins ending in black jade stones that only Insun could do in under an hour with the benefit of surreptitious airbending.

Once in a red gown with white lifelike fire-lilies all over, the thick black silk sash and the ermine cape, Michi could've played hostess for the most select crowds anywhere in the world – and the lovely sunset was a perfect ambient, even though the austere military vessel wasn't, she could barely walk and the burnt lightning-wounds throbbed under their poultices and bandages. Insun, herself done up in a complimentary pink-and-ash silk dress, planted her in an easy chair with a view of the battle on the main viewing deck.

Michi didn't have to pay attention to her to know that it made her uncomfortable. She ordered another chair facing hers and the two began to play, Michi on the pipa4 and Insun on the flute. There were no kings and queens to entertain, but Zhao's officers noticed and appreciated the show, gathering in their dozens on the deck until a veritable impromptu party was afoot. General Iroh wasn't present, but the women's gentle melodies stood on their own. Tea, wine and dumplings were soon being passed around; after the first three songs Commander Yi nervously presented a piece he had composed. Michi took one look at it and decided that it was going to be lovely; she and Insun promptly took it up and Yi joined them by voice, which turned out to be a deep and well-developed baritone. The music flowed on, everyone's spirit soared and they turned their backs on the war, forgetting it for some two hours. Then, all too soon, came the sunset.

 

 

 

 

 

 

1In this continuity Mai's mother is the one who got her into martial arts (but someone else taught her knife-throwing), in addition to bothering her with Court manners and perfect behaviour. In my head canon there's no reason why a Fire Nation Proper Lady's perfect behaviour can't include assassinating political enemies of the Firelord, especially if she's a firebender. Mai is recruited by the Firelord's own daughter and heir who is on an official mission for him – to capture for execution two of Ozai's political enemies (Iroh and Zuko are spuriously declared traitors to the Fire Nation, wanted poster and all) with killing them outright seemingly permitted.

2Killing Aang at that moment would end the Avatar cycle of reincarnations forever – a major coup for Ozai's party – but Zuko either doesn't know or pretends not to know this and Michi definitely doesn't know.

3How long was Aang exposed to the blizzard while unconscious? Did his temporary merger with the Ocean Spirit heal him? Does the Avatar State proof him against extreme cold? Important questions.

4Chinese lute


	4. ...the war remembers them.

Michi's fingers faltered on the pipa's strings. Almost as soon as the sun's light had died out, the moon went blood red and with it the world. Commander Yi, who had stopped singing earlier, citing a sore throat, bellowed hoarsely over the growing din of confused murmurs: “Water Tribe trickery! Everyone to your stations! I want more ships closer to the harbour and as many troops as possible! The eyes of the Firelord are upon us, men!” That said, he rubbed his throat.  
The officers immediately stopped tripping over each other and ran out to the exits in the sort of ordered chaos only possible in the military and verbal silence punctuated by occasional shouted orders. The commander's scowling eyes darted between the moon and city.  
After observing this ruckus for a brief while Michi gently laid aside the pipa and stood up with considerable effort and pain. “Right,” she said grimly. “Insun, I think another change of clothes is in order.”  
The younger woman vaulted out of her chair, careless of involuntary airbending, and gently pulled Michi in by the flanks, propping her up: “Milady, you can't possibly think of going out there in your condition!”  
“I have to,” snapped the lady and pointed to the city: “I underestimated these people. That place isn't a beehive but a hornet's nest! Who knows what devilry-”  
At that moment the moon returned to normal.  
“-they... have... unleashed?” Michi finished awkwardly. She rolled her eyes and allowed Insun to gently sit her back down. “Commander,” she said, turning to Yi, who was still scowling at the icy world outside. “You naval types are all astronomers to some degree; is it possible this was just a celestial-”  
Yi turned around to listen to the question and the full moon flickered like a dying flame and vanished; the whole world darkened as if it was new moon. Yi and Michi summoned flames in their hands to light up the covered deck.  
“I don't think this is a Water Tribe trick,” said Insun, and got raised eyebrows and looks from the commander and Michi. There was an awkward silence. Outside, other ships were moving forward. Then Yi looked slightly away and pointed.  
“What's that?” asked Michi.  
At the back of the beleaguered city, a bright bluish light had emerged. As it slowly made its way down the city's levels, they could make out that it was some kind of giant monster and later that it had two arms, which it occasionally waved about in vicious waterbending motions.  
Vicious and mighty! It raised torrents of water as bright as itself and as high as the any of the tribe's buildings, save only the royal palace and even that was dwarfed by the monster's own body.  
Yi bared his teeth and clenched his fists at the sight: “That thing's killing our men!”  
Michi stood up again, and quickly. Everything else was forgotten – the bad taste of the kills she'd just made, the grand design for which she had done them, the pain ravaging her insides. She walked up to the commander, slowly and shakily, and pulled him into eye to eye by the shoulder: “Commander, order this ship into the harbour, to ram the monster as soon as it gets close enough and order the rest of the fleet to retreat!”  
“What?” he shouted, wild-eyed, in her face. “Now when we have these barbarians on the ropes? We can take that thing – and since when do you give-”  
“THIS BATTLE IS LOST!” she roared over him. Insun had never heard Michi be so loud. “I am the Firelord's direct representative here and I order you in his name to get this fleet out of here and buy them time to escape with this ship and our lives!” When he still hesitated, she tripped and flung the much larger man away from the city with contemptuous ease: “Do as I say!”  
Yi tripped some more but managed to right himself and gave her a grim look. “I'll make it clear to all where this order comes from,” he said; “I'll not have my family held to account for this!”  
“Why are you still here?” Michi asked him in a cold, deadly tone. A moment later, he wasn't. She turned around and opened the hatch to the open-air viewing deck, a beak of metal protruding forward from the flagship's tower.  
“Michi, what's gotten into you?” Insun asked quietly and approached her with halting steps. She was shaking with fright. “We have – we have to get out of here!”  
Michi shook her head slowly and took Insun's extended hand. “No, you have to get out of here. Take your staff and escape; tell Sangok to do the-”  
Insun teared up and shook her violently, almost making her fall: “Have you lost it? I'm not leaving you behind – AAAH!”  
The monster had reached the shore before the ship's engines could get into full swing, submerged, and quickly re-emerged right in front of the ship.  
It was enormous, a towering thing of light and water almost twice as tall and broad as the ship, vaguely humanoid, with arms but the head of a koi fish and a big spiky crest where a human's hair would be. At the centre of its chest was an orb of pure white, almost painful to look at, with something orange within.  
Fire-blasts from neighbouring ships and catapult shot from everywhere caused it to reel back and falter for a few moments, but when it swiped with an arm the vessel immediately to the right of the flagship was flung back on a tall wave into the fleet's bulk with impossible speed, glancing off another ship before it reeled to a stop.  
Michi wriggled out of Insun's grasp and willed her legs to a run, straight at the creature. Once on the outer deck she charged up her lightning and struck the creature right in its glowing heart. It had no effect at all. Her follow-up fire-blast did more of an impression, but only to further rile the thing. Its arm raised and Michi calmed down and closed her eyes, ready for death.  
The swing was so fast she could never have dodged it, but instead of her being crushed the metal tower faltered under her feet and began to slide off where it had been severed cleanly.  
Michi slipped and fell hard onto her left knee, foggy of mind and wondering why she hadn't already died. Then an air twister appeared under her and threw her up neatly into the air. Michi spun herself around to see Insun in the doorway to the covered deck. She was stoic despite tears flowing down her face and was airbending with power and surety unusual in her. Then she produced her glider staff, opened it and flew under Michi just when she stopped gaining height. The assassin clung to the glider's main shaft out of habit and Insun flew up, straight at the monster's face.  
The two women caught a glimpse of the boy in its heart. Seeing him jolted Michi back to her senses. It was the Avatar! As before, his eyes and tattoos were glowing, but this time he was clearly awake and scowling. He made a rough swish with an arm, which the water-monster mimicked, but the attack hadn't led the glider and struck only the air in her wake. Insun cleared the monster, just barely managing to not gut herself on the topmost spine of its crest.  
So thwarted, the Avatar-monster turned its attention back to the ships. It shoved them away from the city by waterbending a great wave almost as tall as itself and began to follow them.  
“Insun, you have to put me down there! I can't just abandon those men!”  
“So sorry, but I won't obey that order,” said Insun. “I know you tried your best to spare as many of their lives as you could, but Lord Sangok and our fleet just didn't show up in time.”  
“I didn't know the North had such a weapon,” Michi wailed. “I was sure Zhao could last at least the two days... this way his troops are massacred and we won't even get one ship!”  
Insun was flying her south and looking resolutely forward to avoid seeing the carnage below, but her airbending was wobbly. At another time Michi might have taken issue, but now she just peaked down through the gaps in the glider's main wings left so that the oiled cloth, which had to fold like a fan into the staff, didn't clog it or get struck.  
The watery monstrosity made incredibly short work of the fleet, which had still boasted over a hundred ships not ten minutes ago. It was waterbending on its own colossal scale and destroyed every last ship, sinking them, capsizing them with ice or even crushing them outright like origami. The sailors and marines aboard fought back with everything they had – most of it fire – but to no avail. Soon it was done and an oppressive silence settled over the aquatic battlefield, now dotted with icebergs, a few fires, and the slowly sinking black remains of a once great fleet.  
Its work done, the monster just stood in place for a little while, its own head stooped in unmistakable grief. It slowly started back – and the moon appeared in the sky, full, rounded and whitish, pitted with the same slightly darker blotches it had always had. It was as if it had never been removed. The monster's head snapped up to it briefly, then it submerged again returned to the city in some haste.  
“It's over,” said Michi, not at all pleased. “This isn't how I wanted to win this battle... I wonder if that thing had anything to do with the moon. Zhao!”  
“What about him?” asked Insun, glad for the subject change.  
“Remember what he said about working on something to deal with the moon? I'll bet that idiot had something to do with the moon's shenanigans and the Avatar's little trick,” Michi snarled. “May he freeze in hell! I should have sent him there myself.”  
“Let's just get you to Lord Sangok so he can hurry up the fleet and save the people down there,” said Insun. “I hope I don't throw up on the way, I'm not feeling too well.”


	5. The Healer King

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tolkien had it right: a proper king is a healer.

Insun kept her dinner in during the flight south. Sangok's fleet was easy enough to find with the moonlight back up. It was a motley collection, built from whole obsolete Fire Navy vessels, a few modern but small steamboats, and wooden sailing ships with the flowing construction and decorations of the Northern Water Tribe, these accounting for over half the fleet.  
The flagship was a massive, elegant combination, wrought of wood and with three tall masts with many sails and no bowsprit but a brazen, Fire Nation style high prow in the shape of a sawfish, ending in a fully-rigged sprit topmast not a ramp. At its back was an L-shaped tower containing the engine room and a good five storeys of cabins, also brazen, with two tall chimneys - the larger, front one doubled as the third mast and boasted two great wing-like, oblique sails behind it. On these was a device of fire (done with gold wire) and water (bright blue) in a yin-yang circle.  
Insun landed on the deck as if it were her own front porch and quickly steadied Michi. Then she grabbed her mouth and launched herself onto the railing to vomit into the sea.

The landing gave the sailors on deck a fright; they shouted calls for alarm and brandished weapons; Michi noticed that they were mostly youngsters, a mix of Water tribals and Fire nationals, the majority being young women of the former extraction.  
Then an officer, an older, scarred, stocky man with reddish brown eyes and Fire Nation sideburns, walked up slowly, shoving young sailors out of his way and gave her a deep bow. “Lady Xiang – and Miss Kong – welcome aboard the Shen Yang, our new flagship,” he said solemnly, then roared raspily: “Get back to work, you lubbers!” When the sailors obeyed (with much hushed conversation) he raised up a meaty hand holding up four fingers for the rest of the crew's benefit, a signal that whatever had happened was resolved or a false alarm.  
“This is a very handsome vessel, Mr. Ho,” said Michi, meaning it. Even up close, the ship was impeccably clean and neatly ordered; every piece of it seemed to be long and sleek. The decorations were plentiful, of brass and blue glass, the latter with wire meshes in them to prevent shards from becoming a problem. There were plenty of lamps; with both fire and waterbenders onboard accidental fire was not a real danger.  
“Well, we try, Milady,” said Ho, beaming with pride, then lowered his voice: “These young kids are some of the finest sailors you'll ever see, only one shouldn't swell their heads too much.”  
A mischievous smile crept onto Michi's patrician features: “Oh, I'm well aware of your command style, you old codger,” she said, then loudly: “The Fire Nation's Royal Barge is an ugly cog next to the Shen Yang! I should know; I've been aboard it more than once.”  
There were high-pitched cheers from the crew. “Stow it,” roared Ho, but he was actually blushing, and the order came out in an unconvinced tone.  
Michi then walked shakily up to Insun, who was still leaning heavily over the railing and gave her a quick one-handed back rub with draconic fire: “Insun, do you need a medic?”  
There were oohs and aahs from the crew when they saw the wisps of multicolour fire that didn't singe the dainty young woman's clothes or give her pain.  
Insun straightened quickly, tossed the kerchief she'd used on her chin overboard and faced Michi: “I-I'm alright, Milady,” she said, though her eyes were bleary and there were tears flowing freely from them. Michi hugged her tightly and Insun hugged her back; the girl's face was clammy.  
“My brave little Insun,” Michi whispered in her ear.  
Ho was clearing his throat noisily. When they finally turned to him, he said very formally: “Ladies, if you would follow me I can lead you to the main guest quarters. I hope you'll find it adequate. After you've rested and freshened up, His Majesty the Feng King will be honoured to receive you personally.”  
Michi crinkled her brow: “Excuse me, who?”  
“Lord Sangok has chosen Feng as his regnal name,” said Ho. “His wish is to be crowned by your hand but in the meantime we've all agreed to start getting used to his kingship. Morale boost, you know, for the fight against Zhao and then when we set up shop on land.”  
“There isn't going to be a fight,” said Michi. “I'd like to see Lord... the King at once if he's available. I'm not exactly in Court shape anymore but he's seen me look worse.” She tried to arrange her hair and found it loose and not as tangled as she'd imagined. The pins were lost and the two braids had unravelled. Insun smiled a little; somehow she'd found time and focus to airbend a bit of order into Michi's hair – and her own.  
“No fight? Yeah, the king's going to flip,” said Ho and motioned them toward the tower.  
The tower's interior was filled with all manner of items from all over the world, including a large, damaged plaque with the Air Nomads' air swirl triskele which had belonged to a set of Air Gates displayed right in front of the main entrance. Michi hadn't seen it before.  
Up three flights of stairs, a female guard the size of a large Earth Kingdom man, in a new suit of Fire Nation style armour, but with blue edgings instead of the usual sharp red and a smooth helmet with a featureless mirror for the visor took one look at them and opened the door she was guarding. Michi clasped hands with her and Insun gave her a quick hug, almost disappearing under the massive arms; Ho just turned back. The king's cabin occupied a good half of its level and was cluttered with rich furniture and artefacts, most of these taken from pirates who themselves had plundered them from the Earth Kingdom(s) and Fire Nation. Opposite the door, a piece of theatre curtain sectioned off a portion for privacy. The middle of the room alone was unoccupied, with only a thick Water Tribe home-made rug on which the king's namesake son was practising waterbending with two large blobs, one of water and one of red wine. He was moving them around himself and intertwining them. The elder Sangok was encouraging him and reminding him that water and wine, unlike people, are not to be mixed.  
Then he turned to the noise's door and ran up to the new arrivals, seizing them both in a bear-hug. The king was no taller than Michi, but easily twice as broad and heavy, with a great paunch that amplified the impression of power. His black hair and beard flowed freely, both below his shoulders and his dark blue eyes never lost the killer's hardness even when he was being emotional. The thick robe of maroon silk swished ponderously about him.  
“Good to see you intact!” he boomed. “We saw your albino messenger hawk on her way to that fool in the Caldera.” He had always refused to say Firelords Ozai and Azulon's names or title. “That means Arnook is dead, right? Shame about the old man but at least now he's off my back!”  
His son gave only a curt, tense “hello” as he worked on his globs of liquid in a red-faced frenzy.  
“It was a bad kill,” said Michi; “four bad kills. Not like killing pirates...”  
“Oh?” asked the third man in the room. “Aren't you the same Xiang Michi who said people like Arnook are a bigger problem than the likes of Azulon and his boy because they, in your words, 'keep the racism and segregation respectable'?”  
Before Michi could fire off her snippy reply, the king introduced him as “Wu Rui, the first true airbending master in almost a century.” The man was tall but bent by age and gaunt, yet seemed strong and alert. He was still mostly black of hair, clean-shaven with a faceful of scars, the worst pulling the left corner of his mouth in a permanent sneer that the beady black eyes reinforced. His nose was squashed and broken in several places. He was wearing the dull green frayed hemp garb of an Earth Kingdom peasant but with excellent winter boots and a dagger in his sash. His hands, kept in closed fists, were hairy and looked like they'd punched a lot of faces.  
Michi bowed politely, although her smile was a little strained.  
“Good evening to you,” said Insun, arms folded, obviously not meaning it; she was in a snit. “Maybe it's not my place to say but for a couple of older wiser heads you two seem very eager to give praise for what at its best was a deplorable act brought about by even worse circumstances!”  
“Thanks for the help,” said Michi with heavy sarcasm.  
“Maybe you haven't noticed, we're in a war,” growled Sangok.  
“Easy, easy, no need to tear my head off,” said Rui and backed away as the discussion, leaving the three friends to their ensuing shouting match between the king's booming roar, Insun's shrillness and Michi's rapid fire chattering. “Your dad's done it now,” Rui told the younger Sangok; “arguing with one Fire Nation woman is bad enough; he must really hate his own ears if he's gonna have a go at two!”  
The youth growled, trying to focus on his waterbending, but as he was performing a tricky movement he twitched, almost crashed wine into water, separated them at the last moment and thrust them violently back into two large, biconical earthenware jugs, splashing some of each liquid around their mouths and opened his mouth to shout at the three.  
Their argument ended abruptly when the king apologized to Insun, who was in tears, and promised to be more sensitive about that sort of thing (around her). Michi was frowning and looking spent; her face was almost chalk white.  
“Anyway, there's more... questionable news,” she said weakly and recounted briefly the Avatar's “scene,” her own – almost dying to defend Zhao's fleet – and its utter destruction.  
It was the king's turn to be shrill. His “What!” came out in a voice closer to Insun's than his.  
“Yes; I think it had to do with the moon going red and then dark,” said Michi.  
“When the waterbending failed completely for half an hour?” asked the king. “I thought that was just Sozin's Comet passing in front of the moon; it's coming again next summer, right?”  
“Yes, two months and three days after the Day of Black Sun,” said Rui. When everyone stared at him, he raised his eyebrows, both split in two by scars: “What? I dabble in astronomy a little! Airbender and all that.”  
“So sorry, but Sozin's Comet is far too small to block the moon,” said Michi, whose husband dabbled a lot more than Rui's “little” in astronomy.  
“Well I am bad at it,” said Rui defensively; “never was one for book-learning.”  
The king stroked his beard: “At any rate, if the Avatar is in the City and has that kind of power it might be wiser to just turn for the Western Mountains already and start building.” A native of the Northern Water Tribe, he referred to its city simply as such. “Master Rui, could you get to one of the sail-ship captains and tell them to see if they can find some survivors? Red flare if there's too many, give the Tribe _The Letter_ – and show no firebenders!”  
“Sure,” said Rui and made to leave.  
“Right,” said Michi, trying not to sound feeble. “Please tell them, if they find the Fire Princes Iroh and Zuko, to give them whatever supplies they need, even a boat – and release them.”  
“What?” asked Wu Rui.  
“Why?” asked the king.  
“Because I'm calling in a favour,” said Michi.  
Without missing a beat Sangok turned to the master airbender: “You heard her.” Then back to Michi as Rui nodded and left.  
“So, we're breaking free of the Tribe at last?” asked the younger Sangok.  
“Yes, who knows what ideas they'll get about forcing us to stay if we dock at the city, Arnook or not. They'll probably want to imprison the Fire natives among us.”  
“They're welcome to try,” Michi said grimly, but she looked like a fruit fly could take her.  
“Hah! Like I'd let them! Listen, bring those kids of yours along. There won't be enough children to start with since we prevailed so well on all the girls to not give birth.”  
“Can't, yet” Michi mumbled with half a mouth. “I have to continue the plan... Earth kingdom... need to appear loyal-” and she collapsed, almost striking the pommel of a vertically displayed sword, but Insun eased her into the king's huge arms with a quick air cushion.  
“On no, I can't believe I forgot!” she yelped. “She passed lightning through herself again!”  
The king turned a severe frown on Michi. “Woman, if you want me to train your Tom-tom to manhood just say so. You don't have to kill yourself! Son, give me a hand!”  
“You tell me... another way to get out of a grapple with five men,” she moaned, as the two Sangoks laid her gently on the recliner and began to strip her.  
When they were down to bandages and loincloth, the younger Sangok gulped and his eyes bugged out. “Concentrate,” snapped his father, starting to unravel the bandages. “If you want to be a healer like your old man you'll have to learn to work with anything – sometimes even lovely young women.” Wounds aside, Michi's skin was a very light tan criss-crossed with pink marbling that traced the lightning's circuit through her body – reddish and connecting the wounds for the recent ones, faded and meeting at little burn scars for the old. She also had stab scars: two in the gut and one in the left arm.  
Her body was lean, but without the thinness of a girl or starved woman; muscles danced and rippled like storm waves under the skin, especially when the smallest movement was a chore. Only the breasts looked soft and they were slight, especially when she lay on her back – all the new lightning wounds were on the front and sides of her body, except one on the back of her left calf. “Hey kid,” she said weakly, “if you work hard every day, eat right, never slack off... one day you'll have as many scars as me.”  
She was rewarded with a less than dignified snort from the younger Sangok.  
“Who made these bandages and poultices?” asked his father.  
Insun stepped forward, bracing herself: “I did.”  
“Pretty good,” he said, and whisked a small glob of glowing water onto the worst wound – the entry, under Michi's left armpit. Twice as long as the others, it alone had begun to fester; Insun was beaming. “You probably saved her life. Son, why don't you try your hand with this one here?”  
Insun blushed furiously. “How come you know how water-healing, uh, Sire?” she asked to stave off the embarrassment. “I thought Northern Water tribesmen didn't learn it, only the women!”  
“And me,” said Sangok, seizing her wrist with his free hand to check the various pulses there. “I took up healing when I was young to piss the older men off – and to get close to disgruntled girls. They were the first of my recruits for the Project. Finally, someone needs to put Michi back together every month or so.”  
“And I'm very grateful,” said Michi in a pleased moan. “I hope you can get me back to my top fighting trim, though.”  
The elder Sangok sighed: “I can, but don't count on it for long! I keep telling you, all these wounds you're taking will catch up with you. The heart, muscles, joints and bones are shipshape as always, but the innards... let's just say your energy pond is full of holes. Some friendly advice: whatever you do, stay out of long fights.”  
“You know me, I always like to end them fast,” said Michi. “Anyway, I'm not planning on fighting anything just now – but I do need to get back to the Fire Nation Capital.”  
“All arranged,” said the king. “Master Wu will take you there on his yacht.”  
“And then a quick climb up to the Caldera,” said Michi with a big, tired smile and closed eyes; the fatigue and relaxation made her voice a bit hoarse: “I can't wait to see my children again.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A quick head-canon note about "draconic fire": At the end of the Firebending Masters episode, its title characters wrap Aang and Zuko in a great cone of multicolour fire that enlightens them, but only spiritually. Such a huge open flame should've killed them with convection, unless it's "cold", and that's what I'm going with: multicolour fire as a benign facet of firebending similar to the glowing, totally not radioactive blobs used by waterbending healers. It's not that powerful, though, and more useful for warming up one's body and setting its flow of energy to rights, though it can also stop wounds from bleeding or getting infected. This art will totally not become important later on (hue-hue-hue).
> 
> It's long since been lost and in the New Fire Nation started by Sozin, which ends up hunting the dragons as big game, they would only know it as draconic fire, if even that, and be disdainful/suspicious of its "weakness"; at any rate only the reclusive dragons and Sun Warriors know it, and a couple of knowledge-hungry strangers. Yes, in my head canon Iroh can do this too, but he has a lot more respect than Michi for the Sun Warriors' desire for secrecy so we don't see him use it. She doesn't tell the whole truth of it either but is not above using and even teaching it in trusted company. As for the dragons, when they want to produce just heat/destruction they seem to be perfectly capable of spitting out normal fire.


	6. Captain and Envoy

Zuko was just about to fall asleep, for once in agreement with his uncle that he needed it. Then the cry came:“Ahoy! Ahoy, the catamaran!”

A long, sleek ship was making its way daintily through the obstacle course of icebergs and Fire Nation wrecks and the occasional floating corpse with the obligatory flock of seagulls and sea-vultures picking at it. Before long it was in full view of Iroh's improvised vessel; there was nowhere to hide and nowhere to run away, so the general stood still and studied it.

The vessel looked like a greatly enlarged Northern Water Tribe boat, but ship-rigged and with a single keel made of large oak planks that must've cost a fortune to import, if the vessel was locally made to begin with. It had tall masts with great sails, but was using rows to get around at present – 24 on Iroh's side. He saw a bit of agitation on deck but nothing threatening.

“Ahoy,” he called back cautiously. He still had a commander's voice when he wanted to; his words carried far with little effort.

“Thank the Spirits for any living souls in this sea of death,” the caller roared back, obviously shaken. She turned briefly to the crew: “Stop the sweeps and heave-to! We're looking for Fire Fleet survivors – have you seen any others?”

“I'm afraid not,”said Iroh. “We were not with the fleet when the Avatar and the Ocean Spirit destroyed it.”

The woman leaned back from the railing a bit: “ That's... hey, I know you; you're General Iroh and Prince Zuko! I've got orders to give you supplies if you need them – maybe a lift. Your... yacht looks a bit... _small_ to brave the High Seas.”

This finally animated the prince. He sat up and clenched his fists: “Supplies?” he demanded snidely. “Who sent you? How do you know about us?”

“Calm yourself, boy,” snapped the woman, not kindly. “I don't have orders to tell you that! But since I have your names here's mine: Demasduit – Captain Demasduit of the White Dolphin;” she petted the ship's railing fondly; “and if you cut it to Dema, by Tui and La I'll crack your skulls.”

“Ah – we wouldn't dream of it,” said Iroh demurely; “You'll have to excuse the Prince; he's a bit tired at the moment!” Zuko gave him the grand-sire of all sullen looks but said nothing.

Demasduit's brandished fist became a wave-down: “'s alright! Listen, about those supplies – would it be acceptable to send a grapnel at you so we can pull together and make the transfer? I'm no pirate; I won't do anything to your ship without your say-so!”

“Go ahead,” said Iroh.

“Uncle, what are you doing?” hissed his nephew with angry urgency.

“If they want to attack us they'll attack us,” the old man answered quietly. “They probably have waterbenders in that ship. Relax, _breathe_ and be ready – just in case.”

He led by example with a deep breath that heaved his impressive belly, as Demasduit turned away and made a crisp hand-sign.

A burly man ran up to the railing and flung a three-pronged grapnel with a tarred line on it. The throw was excellent; Iroh only had to extend his arm lazily to catch it in midair. He hooked it with two prongs to the mast and gave a thumbs-up. The big man and other sailors began to heave on the rope and within two minutes the two vessels were almost touching

Then the water-skins and bundles of food were slid down the taut rope, as the captain propped her head and looked around in apparent placidity. Her face was round and pleasant. “There's hardtack in there,” she said as Iroh stacked the heaviest couple of sacks next to the mast. “I saw firebenders fry it brittle in their hands; there's enough if you mess up the first couple pieces.”

Iroh chuckled: “I may not look like it but I've staved off starvation that way a few times.”

Demasduit smiled back and nodded. Zuko groaned as he helped his uncle with the last of the supplies. Then the captain pointed at the grapnel and Iroh unhooked it. The metal clanked once against the White Dolphin's planking before vanishing hastily over the railing.

“Alright, take care of yourselves and stay out of the Avatar's way! He seems to be in a bit of a snit,” said Demasduit, though the understatement failed completely in covering up the fear and shock in her eyes and voice.

Zuko's entire body twitched at that and Iroh flinched with worry.

“Eh, yes...” said Iroh; then he bowed: “well, whoever our secret benefactor is, please thank them for us – and thank _you.”_

The captain bowed back and turned away: “Waterbenders! Make us some room.” Then she and three other crew members lined up and took a stance more suitable for earthbending then raised their arms; the water between the two ships raised a couple feet with them, pushing the vessels away from each other. When there was enough, she called out for the oars and ordered the ship to make for the ice city on the horizon.

 

*

* *

 

The White Dolphin made port shortly before sunset and was allowed to dock after a quick round of negotiations with the condition that the captain would be allowed to disembark alone with all hands confined to the ship. Demasduit had intended just that and agreed readily. Then she took aside her first mate, a lean young Fire National with beads in his goatee and a peg leg: “If I'm arrested or otherwise not back in twenty-four hours, if there's any attack or attempt to board the Dolphin, _any trouble at all_ , you have the ship; get it the hell out of here, and consider me dead and yourselves at war with the Northern Water Tribe.”

“Yes ma'am,” he said, then hugged her suddenly and tightly, whispering in her ear: “Listen Demasduit, I want my own ship but not like this! Just get back!”

“Aright, alright, now get yourself below deck before someone notices where you hail from!”

On the pier, a small crowd had gathered to greet the new arrival with murmurs:

“Who's that? I didn't know we had any big ships out!”

“It's a single keel; is it even one of ours?”

“What's with that rigging?”

“It still kind of looks like one of ours...”

“What did the harbourmaster say? Is that the captain coming down?”

A couple of waterbenders had formed an ice staircase that tapped a little too loudly into the White Dolphin's side for Demasduit's liking; she growled but used it. The surface was jagged, with little brittle blades crunching under the leather soles with brass heels and tips of her shoes.

“It looks like the captain,” someone said.

Demasduit was wearing her best, loudest clothes: a suit that imitated precisely the style of the Earth King's Dai Li, less the Earth Kingdom's square-punctured coin sigil, the low-hanging conical rain-hat and the colouring: her trousers and shoes were sky blue silk; the robe as well, with dragons sewn in gold wire all over; the tight-fitting, practical cylindrical rimless hat (hers was of gold weave) that the Feng King had wisely chosen to denote _his_ magistrates. Her hair hung freely under it, coming to the small of her back. The ensemble did much to liven up the chatter, not that it was needed.

“It looks like he got sprayed with molten gold,” another man said snidely.

“Did it blind you? That's a woman!”

“The captain is a woman?”

“She looks like one of ours, but since when are women captains?”

“Maybe she's from the South Pole.”

“Hey, I think I know her from somewhere!”

“What? Get out of here!”

“I'm telling you, that's _her!_ Demasduit – old Amaqjuaq's daughter! I would know, I almost married her – won her old man over, made her the necklace and everything!” His voice was heavy with bitterness at the old shame of having his bride-to-be abscond on him without any warning or trace – and now she'd come back captaining a large, strange ship...

“Then where is it?” snapped the snide man from before. Demasduit was pudgy, so she wore the collar down lest it constrict her thick neck; there was no necklace of any description.

“Don't say poor old Amaq's name so loud; you want her to make a scene here?” an older man hissed. His own eyes became downcast from the memory of his dead friend.

Then Demasduit was suddenly face to face with her once-betrothed and her late father's friend. “Excuse me,” she said; “I'm here on an official envoy to Chief Arnook; please let me by.”

The tone was cold and authoritative and she looked up at the men with something of disdain and nothing of recognition. She'd changed very little from the fifteen year old girl of seventeen years ago – most of it was that the bright-eyed but scared doe's gaze was now hard and worldly.

Still, he tried. It wasn't like he'd married anyone else to get in the way of the old arrangement: “Hey, Demasduit, don't you recognize me? I'm Pittiulak!”

Demasduit's eyes widened in surprise – and anger. “Is that so? Well, you didn't have a beard when I knew you. In any case I have an important message for the Chief, from Sangok the Elder.” She fished out two scrolls, both showing a big square seal print in vermilion wax reading 'Sangok, 1st Feng King'. She withheld one one but unfurled the other for them: “Here are my credentials; the message itself is for the chief and council's eyes only.”

“I can't read,” said Pittiulak, taken aback. “Listen, what's with the robes and all this non-”

“Out of the way,” snapped the harbour master, shoving his huge bulk past Pittiulak and sending him into another man (“Hey!”) and from there a shoving conga line which ended with a boy almost falling into the water. The huge man read the paper quickly and loudly:

“'This is to attest that Demasduit, born of the Northern Water Tribe in their Ice City in the 67th Year after Sozin's Comet, her face being depicted below, is my trusted and beloved vassal and the captain-owner of her ship, called the White Dolphin. Any treatment she receives will be met with my gratitude or vengeance as if it were my own person. So help me Tui and La. Signed, Admiral Lord Sangok Sr. on the 23rd day, Tiger Month, 97th Year after the Comet; signed as witnesses, Xiang Michi and Lan Niyok.'”

The picture that occupied most of the document was an accurate portrait of the captain even when held next to her living face.

“That's Sangok's signature, alright,” said the harbour master and turned around: “Please follow me, uh, captain. Pitt, we don't have time for your betrothal woes just now; if you don't get out of the way I'll raise a shitstorm you won't believe. This is important!”

Demasduit stuck closely to the massive man as he made his way through the crowd. She rolled back the document and hid both scrolls and her hands in the robe's baggy sleeves. He led her to a gondola, which they took to the top level of the City and the Palace.

“A few things you should know, envoy, if that's what you are,” he said roughly, turning to face her when they were about to enter; “Chief Arnook was killed yesterday around dawn by a Fire Nation assassin; his daughter Yue has merged with the Moon Spirit and Hahn, her betrothed and the chief's designated heir, was lost at sea.”

She looked down and away; she knew of Michi's mission from the Firelord – all of the Feng King's inner circle did – but the other two were surprises. “That's, uh, terrible,” she said and cursed herself inwardly for being such a lousy, inexperienced ambassador. “I'm sorry to hear that – but the Tribe must go on, no? I hope I haven't come back just to see the start of a civil war.”

“No,” said he; “we don't have a new chief yet but there won't be any civil war. Master Pakku is heading an interim council to elect the new chief while the Avatar helps us make the transition.”

Terror caused Demasduit's flesh to quiver briefly, but she mastered herself: “The... Avatar? I hope for your sakes you know what you're doing! I'm fresh from seeing his handiwork out there.”

“He did that to Fire Nation scum,” said the harbour master fiercely. “If you're not in league with them you have nothing to fear from him!” Then he smiled, a lot like a cute boy's loving older brother, though he was at least fifty: “He's actually a real sweet kid and lots of fun to be around!”

“I've no doubt,” said Demasduit, openly showing extreme doubt.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've always had a bit of a problem with Iroh's statement that they drifted 3 weeks without food or water before reaching the Fire Nation resort in the northern Earth Kingdom (The Avatar State episode). Awesome firebenders or no, they can't survive 3 weeks without (drinking) water and if they had no food even Iroh will be rail thin by that time, with both barely able to move, let alone think, firebend and fight/escape from Azula(!) and her troops. We observe that neither have lost any weight. That's where Michi's favour from last chapter comes in.
> 
> Regarding Demasduit, her ship and the Water Tribesmen commenting on them: the early history of Sangok's fleet and why the White Dolphin is a single-keel and ship-rigged may be revealed elsewhere if my readers show interest. For clarification it wouldn't look entirely out of place as a sixth-rate in the Royal Navy, if only someone gave it cannon (she can probably handle 20 on the main deck and a couple each bow chasers and quarterdeck guns) and a completely male crew.
> 
> One man opines that the woman in authority probably comes from the Southern Water Tribe. This is consistent with Hama's flashbacks from The Puppetmaster where she is shown apparently leading the Southern Tribe's waterbenders in battle and as the last one to be caught. This might be Hama hyping herself but the woman did invent bloodbending so I'm ready to give her credence. In my head canon the SWT is just as chauvinistic as the NWT except with (competent) waterbenders, who would be treated as honorary men. Notice how Hakoda and Bato interact with Katara (the latter has her partake in an explicitly male initiation ritual), versus early Sokka. The mature men will have had time to learn the old traditions about female waterbenders and may have exchanged a fireside tale or two about Hama herself, but Sokka had to repeatedly witness Katara and other women being awesome to come around.
> 
> 18/05/15: Made a slight edit to clarify Demasduit's hat and made her a much more recent captain-owner.


	7. Diplomacy...

Demasduit was led to a large chamber with a long ice table where several older men and three youth were sitting in discussion. All but one of the youth were dressed in decorated variations of the Water Tribes' eternal blue anorak, while the last and youngest was wearing an Air Nomad monk's orange and yellow robes – a sight Demasduit had known only from old history books and then only because Michi had planted in the elder Sangok's head the idea that all his people should be not only literate, but cult. The White Dolphin's captain gave them a quick mental blessing for this. She, like that fool Pittiulak, hailed from the seediest segments of the Northern Water Tribe's population, which unlike the respectable other three quarters of it were mostly illiterate.

She recognized Pakku, of course, but the burn scar on his forehead was new; Demasduit was convinced at once that was Michi's work even though she hadn't gotten to hear the full tale of Arnook's death. One more of the councilmen was known to her, a surly and vicious non-bender called Petuwaq. There was only one other female in the room – one of the youngsters, a fresh-faced girl with brazen skin and her hair done up in a distinctly Southern Water Tribe style: a tight, very low bun with two thin bangs looped into its middle. She had a betrothal necklace.

The young man beside her shared many of her features, but in more masculine versions; he seemed to be depressed and a bit out of it all.

Demasduit was by far the richest-dressed person in the room. Even so, when the harbour master announced her as “Sangok's envoy” they all turned around: Pakku and Petuwaq sneered at her. “Well?” the old master demanded.

But the curious, bright, gray eyes of the bald young Air Nomad – the Avatar himself – were what shook her. He seemed innocent and childish enough, with a curious, friendly smile for her, as opposed to the surly, ancient and fearsome killer she had expected. But that only made it worse.

The captain steeled herself and bowed very low, almost as before royalty.

“Message from His Majesty the Feng King, whose given name is Sangok! He sends these following words to to the Council of the Northern Water Tribe,” she said loudly and solemnly, then made a show of unfurling the parchment: “'We the Feng King, Ruler of the Fuhe-Sida People, wish only health and prosperity to the'” – she skipped over 'Chief and' – “'Tribal Council of our old home the Northern Water Tribe. _Old_ home, for we hereby declare the independence of our people from the Water Tribes, the Earth Kingdom's states and the Fire Nation, desiring to build in peace a new society dominated by no single Element and free of the old, failed traditions which have resulted in this last century's unpleasantness.

“'We welcome any immigrants who come to our shores with an open mind and an honest desire to break away from old traditions, but any meddling by another state will be met with even fiercer opposition than what the Fire Nation's attempts to dominate the world have garnered. Beyond that we seek only peace, friendship and trade with our relatives in the Northern Water Tribe.'” She furled back the scroll and held it out.

There was a stunned, heavy silence. It was worldwide custom for an envoy's missive to be accepted and examined by the receivers, but when nobody came to retrieve it Demasduit put it back in her sleeve. Then Pakku stood up slowly; his dark blue eyes were hard to read, but she thought they were murderous. He asked slowly and deliberately: “Sangok is seceding from the Tribe?”

Demasduit released a long breath, certain now that she was dead. “Yes; we all are,” she said. “Almost half the Fuhe-Sida Kingdom is young female runaways from this tribe, including me. We were going to declare the secession after we attacked Zhao's fleet from behind, so we could do it on the tail of a great victory but before we even arrived _someone_ destroyed it first.”

The Avatar actually looked a little embarrassed, but only for the briefest moment. “Hey, you said Fuhe- _Si_ da (Reunited _Four_ Elements), not Fuhe- _San_ da (Reunited _Three_ Elements)! Thanks for not leaving Air out! I mean it's probably just a holdover but... is there more?”

His sudden, pleading question wrong-footed the captain: “Huh? Um, well, no, no there's not. It's – it's just how the expression goes: The Four Elements.” She cursed herself inwardly for making it sound like the obvious lie it was.

The child believed her, though; his brightly smiling face fell: “Oh. But where are you even setting up this new kingdom?” he asked.

“That's certainly a pertinent question,” said Pakku; for once the heavy sarcasm wasn't directed at the asker but at the captain.

“I'm not at liberty to discuss that,” said Demasduit quickly; “All I can say is: Not on Northern Water Tribe territory.”

“That will make it difficult to send any... embassies and merchants,” said Pakku acidly.

“All in good time, Lord. We've just declared independence; we need time to set up shop and then we'll be able to receive all kinds of visitors _properly.”_

Pakku narrowed his eyes at the veiled threat: “And in the meantime, what do you expect, that we let you run off with our girls and our ships? Need I remind your _Feng King_ that most if not all of his ships are the Northern Water Tribe's property – and you say half his people are our abducted young girls? Everybody thought they were being taken by the Fire Nation, or spirits!

His voice grew, dripping finely controlled hostility: “At any rate he could've picked a better time. Before he was killed by the Fire Nation in the same disgusting, cowardly attack that gave me this” – he pointed to his new scar – “Chief Arnook and I agreed that we would help rebuild the Southern Water Tribe. We still mean to do that – I will go personally as soon as possible.” He gave the young woman a meaningful look of some warmth and all the bile vanished from his next sentence: “Also we have some rebuilding to do here.” Then it reappeared: “I won't have Sangok gallivanting off with our resources and people at a time like this!”

The Avatar gave him a worried look, but the young woman seemed to be in agreement with Pakku; Petuwaq was smirking.

Demasduit's face had gone red. As soon as she was sure Pakku had stopped talking she answered hotly: “First, I _object_ to the term 'abducted'; I joined the Feng King's fleet willingly and I don't know that anyone was forced! Certainly the young women on my ship have a far better life there than they could ever hope for in this city. Second, those ships have been put to good use taking down pirate fleets the world over, that the Northern Water Tribe was content to ignore as long as _they_ were safe in _their_ city. All our ships have been well earned in sweat and blood!” Demasduit was surprised and pleased with herself that she had referred to the Northern Water Tribe as _they_ naturally. “Third, feel free to rebuild your damned tribes without us! Now then, are you going to execute me or shall I take your answer back to _my_ king?”

The Avatar stood up quickly: “Nobody's going to execute anybody!” Demasduit was a good eight yards away and still flinched from him.

“Don't be so sure,” growled Petuwaq and other councilmen seemed to agree with him, but the Avatar purposefully ignored them. Demasduit thought highly of his skill at that.

“Look,” he said, “I don't know what caused you guys to leave your homes but I'm sure if we all just sit down and talk _calmly” –_ he gave the old master _A Look_ – “we can find a compromise that would suit everyone.”

“If I'm allowed back to my ship alive I'll absolutely relay your proposal to the King as well, Avatar,” said Demasduit as softly and politely as she knew how to. There was no harm in that.

Then the Avatar stepped over the bench: “Thanks, but I can do that in person! I'd love to meet him.” Then he tried for a solemn affect, complete with hand on chest: “After all it's my duty as the Avatar to meet and negotiate with world leaders.”

“He's not a world leader, he's a kidnapper and a thief,” snapped Petuwaq.

The Avatar continued to ignore him; instead he looked, crestfallen, into Demasduit's horrified face. She had backed up some more and hit the door. She started to yelp something starting in “A” but then controlled herself and righted her robe: “I'm afraid you'll have to wait too, Avatar,” she said. “I have strict orders not to accept anyone from the City to board or follow my ship – even people who want to escape – emigrate – _emigrate_ to the Fuhe-Sida Kingdom. Their transportation will be arranged at a later time.”

“Well then, how am I supposed to resolve this?” the boy demanded. “The last thing we need now is another war on top of the Fire Nation going crazy for a hundred years!”

The captain shrugged: “There won't _be_ a war, or at least nothing much: we don't want to attack the Tribe and Councilman Petuwaq's bluster aside, I doubt the Tribe will want any part in another great effort, between the Fire Nation and the plans to rebuild the South.”

All three youngsters started to say something at the same time but Petuwaq shouted over them: “ _Bluster_ , is it?”

Another councilman shouted shrilly over even him: “You think we're going to stand idle while you steal our children?”

Demasduit went very pale. “Sir, are you a trained waterbender?” she asked, to all appearances calmly.

“Yes, what of it?” he snapped.

“In the Fire Nation they have a nasty little habit called Agni Kai,” said Demasduit with the same cool detachment. “It's a state-sanctioned firebenders' duel, usually to the death. If I were not here on the King's business, I would call you out for what you said just now and kill you.”

“Have you gone altogether wild after you ran away?” Petuwaq demanded. “Everyone knows we don't duel to the death here!”

Pakku calmly folded his hands and, though sitting, he managed to look down his nose at Demasduit: “He's right, you know; at least you should know better, not being a Fire Nation savage.” 

“Yes, yes, no duels to the death in the Water Tribe... at least I know better than to go around accusing people of stealing children.”

“That's enough!” shouted the young woman. “Some adults you three are when a teenager has to remind you this meeting isn't about your snowflake egos!”

“Snowflake?” asked the Avatar, dumbfounded.

“Meaning fragile as a snowflake,” she explained to him.

“I'm afraid you have it wrong this time,” Pakku said to her, though kindly; “this sort of meeting is precisely about the snowflake egos involved. Councilman Kuruk, apologize.”

“What? I will not-”

Pakku turned a withering glare on him: “Perhaps you'd like a duel after all – with me.”

Kuruk, a burly middle-aged warrior named for the previous Water Tribe Avatar and famous even in Sangok's fleet for his near-suicidal bravery and the supernatural luck that carried him through a life of risk upon reckless risk with no serious injury, went a little green in the face at the thought of fighting his waterbending teacher and bowed to Demasduit in some haste: “My apologies, um, that remark was truly out of place.”

The conversation was reminding Demasduit of everything she hated about her tribe and she was getting tired of the whole farce, but she would have more than enough rest when they killed her, so she gave Kuruk a curt nod.

“Anyway, if I got carried away, it's only because I have two girls missing and probably in Sangok's fleet and I'm worried sick,” said Kuruk tiredly. “I'm sure all the other fathers feel the same as me, unless they're blocks of ice and not men. Damn the ships I say; we can build more, but we would rest a lot easier if we knew _for certain_ the girls who left this Tribe did so on their own accord and are safe and well treated. Then maybe we could move toward accepting the, uh, Fuhe-Sida Kingdom as an independent state.”

Pakku gave the Avatar a look of rare indulgence: “I for one would be completely satisfied by whatever finding Avatar Aang returns with after looking into the matter.”

“And visiting rights!” Kuruk added quickly; everybody murmured their assent except Demasduit, Pakku (who only nodded) and the depressed young man.

“Damned if I'm taking that fleet-killer aboard the White Dolphin!” Demasduit wanted to shout. Instead, she folded her arms: “The Avatar is certainly free to investigate this matter; it's no state secret how anyone joined the Kingdom, but I can't allow him to board or follow _my_ ship without _explicit_ clearance coming _directly_ from the Feng King. In fact my crew have orders to treat _any_ attempt to board or interfere with the ship as an act of war and do their best to escape, with or without me.” There was also the time limit but no need to prick them with that.

The Avatar slumped his shoulders and snorted grumpily.

“So, what you're saying is there's no way to resolve this right now?” asked Pakku.

“I wish there were, Master,” the captain lied, without hesitation. That at least was getting easier. Then a truth, to sweeten the pill: “We'll be a little preoccupied with feeding ourselves and building our homes. If we can say good-bye in peace here and now he next envoy should come this way in a few months. They will be allowed to give you the location of our kingdom and carry or escort any commission you might wish to send to establish the fates of the _émigré_ girls;” she looked pointedly at Kuruk: “ _And_ any visitors. For now, let me remind you that I _was_ one of those same girls; it's seventeen years now and almost two months since I left and I'm _not_ complaining.”

Kuruk and Petuwaq growled in frustration; the young woman was telling the Avatar something in a hushed voice. It seemed to jolt his memory and cause Pakku to pick at his goatee.

“Right; thanks, Katara,” Aang said, carelessly giving away the girl's name when they had no need for Demasduit to know it.

“Alright, have it your way,” Pakku said to her; the other councilmen began to raise protests but he raised his arms in calming gestures: “After all we gave Sangok as much as seventeen years with those girls; I don't think he'll bring them to any harm in a couple months that they didn't suffer in all that time.” He turned to Katara: “Besides, his envoy seems as stubborn as you; I doubt very much she'd lead us to him before he's ready even if we asked as the Fire Nation would.” Then the pair of dark ice beads bored holes into Demasduit again: “That's something _we_ will never do.” He said the _we_ in such a way as to implicitly exclude Sangok and his fleet from it. “You're free to go.”

 

It took Demasduit a few moment to process those last words.

When she did, she marched out of the palace in a haze, forgetting to bow; no guards, honour or otherwise, followed her. She just made as direct a route to the dock as she could, slack-faced and ignorant of all the looks and buzzing gossip she got. Close to the harbour Pittiulak accosted her again, drunk and accusatory; he pointed his finger in her face and Demasduit snatched his wrist, hardly aware of what she was doing, then swiftly the elbow. She spun and tripped him into the water of one of many canals that served as streets in the Northern Water Tribe's city.

She arrived at the White Dolphin's pier without any more incident; the ice stair was gone so she bent a quickly rising column of seawater to jump aboard, a demanding technique that she would've thunk three times before attempting and maybe failed once or twice in normal circumstances, then landed neatly on the familiar deck of neatly-fixed planks, with its bone-white colour from being religiously scraped clean a good five hundred times with holystones.

“Captain on deck,” cried the bosun and everyone in sight of the ship's brain and lone goddess saluted her by bringing the knuckles of their right arms to the temples on the same side.

Thus home and safe, Demasduit swooned and fell on her face.

She, who had always endured the worst battles against pirate and storm alike with uncomplaining bravery, did this so suddenly no-one had time to catch her, but they swarmed her afterwards and the ship's medic used water-healing massage on her temples to relieve stress then passed a small vial of ammonia under her nose and she began to come to.

After confirming her own name and rank and that the doctor was holding up three fingers, she was hoisted up to her feet and gave the order to raise anchor and point the White Dolphin's stern the ice city and in short order its bay and the wreckage of the Fire Nation's fleet.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Regarding Sangok's kingdom's name: Fuhe means reunited in Chinese, Si means four and Sida is a word for the four classical elements (also having a modern usage as the Four Freedoms). Thus, Reunited Four Elements.
> 
> Now on to Demasduit sauntering into the Water Tribe's royal palace to announce that one of their admirals took a regnal title and went rogue along with thousands of the Tribe's young women, they would at least have tried to arrest her (prompting the bull-headed captain to fight to the death) and detain the White Dolphin, but they respected Aang's wish and eventually cooler heads prevailed. The matter is by no means resolved, but at least they now have a precedent of discussing matters without coming to blows.
> 
> This is probably the kind of win Aang and Katara would enjoy the most and soften the blow of Arnook's death so they won't have to be TOO depressed. S2 opened with enough stress for the poor kids between the whole Avatar State shenanigans (Katara was buried alive for a good half a minute! She took it like a champ too, I don't think many people can go through that without soiling themselves, especially in those circumstances) and Omashu getting occupied.


	8. North to South

It still amazed her how much more a team of water- and firebending sailors could get out of a ship's boiler than either alone. The steam from her and Rui's teacups carried sideways, almost flat to their lips. “Your move,” he said in his unmistakable nasal voice.

Her eyes darted at once back to the Pai Sho board. His last move was bold, aggressive, but also transparent and reckless; almost certainly a trap. “Some of us like to think on our moves more thoroughly,” she said. “Anyway I wouldn't have thought your 'yacht' was a Fire Fleet ship.”

“Well, she isn't, not exactly” he said as Michi made her own move, which seemed not to answer his obvious attack at all. “I see you're getting the hang of fast Pai Sho. Anyway she's from the same stock.” He moved another tile on the board. “Old Man Jin built her together with one of the Firelord's usual ten-pack orders: one extra, off the books – at least off the books the Fire Nation gets to see – and built in overtime by workers who like to get paid and keep mum. Her steel was mined and smelted in the same way.”

Michi nodded; she was taking time over her next play again. Certainly nobody not in the know would mistake Rui's  _Burning Wind_ for anything other than a Fire Nation cruiser, for it was complete with trebuchet, Fire Nation insignia, pennant, uniforms and papers – officially, the cruiser and her crew were not attached to any fleet and earmarked for special missions from the Firelord personally. That Ozai had no idea there was an extra ship on the Fleet's rolls with this designation was, to her captain, a matter of supreme indifference.

The only giveaway was the airbender going through the motions of an elaborate practice routine, on deck, in full view. At Michi's insistence, Insun was taking a greater interest in her bending, with some help from Rui and a set of airbending scrolls gifted to her by the Feng King.

“Good work, kiddo,” said Rui, responding immediately to Michi's Pai Sho move. “Your form is very smooth... now make your movements more decisive – more aggressive! You're good but you'd have trouble fighting off a _sparrow_ like that!”

Insun didn't change the gentle flow of her forms and the air they moved; the shake of her head, though, was decisive enough: “With respect, I don't need or _want_ to fight. Of all the reasons one could name to learn airbending that's the one I know I don't have.”

Michi smiled at that: “That's quite alright; if anyone gives her any trouble she has a 130 jin (1) meteor hammer that will swing itself at the target.”

Rui was not satisfied; the half a scowl made his bony, pinched face look downright ugly: “And when you're not around, or sick, or dead? I heard you have eighteen years on the girl and I'm still amazed I could cross over fifty in our line of work, so don't take it for granted. Anyway, you wanted me to teach the girl, so let me _teach_ the girl! Your move.”

Insun knew that would induce Michi to shrug and stay silent, deferring the point, before she did so; with an angry sigh she put the edge in her movements that the captain had demanded, and the gentle breezes she had been controlling and knotting became powerful, whistling gales. She saw Wu's narrow mouth and eyes upturned in a satisfied, but nasty grin; he nodded: “That's the stuff, kiddo,” he said. “When the chi courses through you, the winds will writhe and strike at your command! You've the makings of a great airbender, Kong Insun; better than me. In your place I'd give some serious thought to making more proper airbenders and I don't just mean with the womb.”

Insun stopped and stared at him: “I – I'm not – what do you mean?”

Rui looked at the sky, suddenly melancholic: “Who knows how many are out there, repressing their airbending because of the Fire Nation's interdict, either through brainwashing or fear?”

“I only know about a dozen airbenders, Captain, all active of course: all nine known from the Northern Water Tribe, all with the Feng King now, thank the Sun; Insun here, yourself and the Avatar,” said Michi before Insun could answer. “I've been meaning to ask, in fact – do you have any idea of how many there are in the world?”

“Well everybody keeps tight about this sort of thing. It might be close to a hundred years after Sozin rubbed out the Air Nomads but the fear's still there. Apart from The Nine I've only had ten people come up to me to teach them airbending as could actually learn it, four of them my own progeny; beyond _that_ , nothing more than the rumours going about sometimes, mostly fish tales. Even I don't exactly put up _adverts_ , as you might imagine.”

A great shadow had appeared, suddenly shielding him from the sun; he looked up to see the massive frame of Niyok, the Feng King's bodyguard, on loan to common old friend Michi, in her armour – its trimmings freshly painted Fire Nation red – and with the eternal mirror covering her face. Ten years into knowing Sangok and seeing her always close by, Wu Rui was still a little intimidated by the quiet giant – Niyok was as tall as him and about twice as big, while still trim at the waist; she had inherited many pieces of Avatar Kyoshi's wardrobe by way of Sangok's antique collection and was said to wear them well, with only a palm's width at most of added hems, except the shoes which were too big. The mirror-mask, as near as he could tell, was facing him directly.

“Stop hiding and you'll find more,” she said in a thick, powerful voice.

“Huh?” said Rui, surprised. It was the first time she'd spoken in his presence. After a couple more seconds of _probably_ staring at him she stepped away abruptly and patted Insun gently on the shoulder, receiving a quick hug around the waist for her trouble and returning it, briefly hiding the girl's shoulders under her mighty forearms.

“It's not the right time yet,” said Michi. “Morishita of Yu Dao is still working to swing the Colonies to our side and the Fuhe-Sida Kingdom doesn't even have a royal palace yet, much less a city or an economy. Even with combined bending from all the disciplines we don't have enough people yet. Let's stick to the plan; some of my Fire Nation contacts are prepared and they're helping the rest get there.” She raised her cup: “Soon enough, we'll break Ozai's Fire Nation and its war!”

“Hear hear,” said Wu Rui, raising his own; Insun quickly poured Niyok a cup.

“And one for you,” said Michi.

Insun went a little red in the cheeks and tried to hide her smile; they all drank the tea-toast, Niyok by bending her tea into a thin worm of liquid which crept up under her mask.

 

*

*                *

 

The _Burning Wind_ roared into port through Azulon's Gates at an incredible pace, almost twice the normally accepted top speed of a Fire Navy cruiser, barely managing to give the proper signals in time to avoid the alarms being sounded. Despite Michi's protests, her captain could not resist showing off. The ship began to break only just in time to avoid disaster and came to a stop near her assigned pier; the prow lowered itself onto the built-up bank at the exact moment the ship came to a dead stop and the anchor plunged down. At once, a wizened Fire Nation official made his way up its ladder and met Michi and her baggage train on the prow of the ship. He was flanked by two Imperial Firebenders, so the crew breathed a little easy; two were just for show.

“Ah, Minister Yi,” said Michi, greeting him with a Fire Nation salute, which he returned with a deeper bow. “I hadn't realized I was so sorely missed.”

“So sorry if I am curt, Milady, but the Firelord was already notified of your arrival and requires your presence and that of the ship's captain – _immediately._ ”

Michi allowed a bit of surprise to show on her face. With the _Burning Wind's_ breakneck approach the Firelord must have lit a fire under Yi's arse to get him up and onto the ship in time – knowing Ozai, maybe a literal fire.

At mention of the Firelord, Niyok, who wanted nothing as much as to wring his “spindly little” neck, couldn't help but crack her knuckles noisily; Yi involuntarily backed away a step from the faceless giant.

“Immediately it is, then,” said Michi as Wu Rui stormed out of the stern tower, looking every bit the properly angry Fire Navy captain in his armour, except for the vividly green eyes. He opened his mouth to roar something appropriately surly about strangers on his deck, but Michi pre-empted him: “Ah, captain! We are wanted by the Firelord at once, to make our reports. I advise confining the crew on board and that we should make haste. Stay here, ladies.”

That last was for Niyok and Insun; both of them had enough trust in her to stay put; Wu Rui also knew enough of the instant and total obedience Ozai demanded of his subjects, so he merely grunted and nodded his assent, then loudly ordered his first lieutenant to take charge of the ship, so he and Michi followed the minister down the ship's prow ladder; with one last look out the corner of her eye Michi saw Insun shuffle bodily into the safety of Niyok's armoured bulk and the latter respond with a protective arm around the shoulder.

As far as she knew, both of them had been intimate with men in the past but from how their affinity had ballooned during the voyage Michi was convinced the two young women were lovers (2); the thought drew a little indulgent smile, but also other thoughts, such as it was time for the both of them to get married and start working on their very important bloodlines (Insun's especially) and that she should advice them discreetly on that matter and to keep any extramarital affairs, if they must have such, as discreet and strictly homosexual as possible, to avoid any stain on the lineage of their babies to be, something she, being less careful, had only managed due to the unhappiest of circumstances.

Then she became aware of a minor assault upon her flank. Wu Rui, walking through the harbour's main street beside her, was elbowing her ribs with some urgency. “What's the fucking Firelord want with me anyway and why the long walk there?” he demanded soundlessly.

It was a good half-mile of wide road from the lip of the water to the foot of the great Caldera in which the Fire Nation's capital lay and the winding road up its steep slope to the great gate was again that; Minister Yi and his two guards had set a brisk pace. “Just kowtow, stick to the Story and say as little as possible,” Michi mouthed back in the same manner.

On the way up they overtook wain after wain of supplies, which trundled up the winding road to support the lavish lifestyle of the bustling, wealthy and crowded city above. Small, round guard towers overlooked the road, built into the slope; it was a mark of great pride for the Firelords that, despite the logistical nightmare involved and the terrible strain on a nation all but bled white by a century of aggressive warfare, they maintained in the Caldera an opulent lifestyle that rivalled the fabulous, legendary Inner Ring of Ba Sing Se, which was on a wide open plain and had earthbending to aid with transportation. Michi knew that she had the Firelords' crushing taxes to thank for the many colonies and entrepreneurs who had joined her conspiracy.

 

Up the slope and into the city, thence into the Royal Palace, a collection of massive pagodas that far outstripped Arnook's ice manse but had less chambers inside overall, being filled with echoing hallways and very spacious apartments, which old Sozin had once fancied big enough for his fighting nobility to practice their firebending in.

Wu Rui was sweating profusely and tugging hard at the neck of his armour, for as always the Palace's interior was kept in sweltering heat, uncomfortable without long habit even to firebenders; Michi herself liked it little enough after a polar escapade and her wounds liked it still less.

At least the air flowed easy enough in the main hallway, which was almost as wide as the _Burning Wind's_ deck and close enough to the height of its tower. Michi was thankful that Wu Rui was suffering too much to gape at the riches on display, the vastness and the Firelords' official portraits. She knew them only too well and barely spared them a passing glance.

Then through the huge door of wrought iron covered in decorative gold and into the Throne Room. It was huge, not too long ago the largest enclosed space in the world; against the wall opposite the entrance was the raised dais on which the Firelord sat behind his usual wall of fire. There were lines of Imperial Firebenders on either side and furtive servants trying their best not to be seen, but at least no Azula.

Michi thanked the Sun she had insisted on being sharply dressed and ready for Court at all times; she arranged the folds of her best fire-lily pattern silk dress before kowtowing neatly; Wu Rui imitated the gesture clumsily. As was her wont, she popped up again in a straight stand without waiting to be allowed; even Ozai had never said anything about this privilege of hers, though his scowl deepened when the captain, unknowing, imitated her again.

The Firelord's face was perfectly ordinary, symmetrical, even handsome, his features manly, slightly angular and youthful for his forty-three years and the frowning, supercilious mien he wore at all times; the long, thin goatee made the whole face seem longer than it was. He was known to be very fit, muscular, scrupulously hygienic, going through Firelord robes at thrice the usual rate because the extra washing he ordered wore and discoloured them that much faster.

Whenever Michi saw him, however, she felt the smell of burnt, dying flesh, like a heavy slap on the face. For the briefest moment she would be unable to hold back a glare of utter, insane hatred. Inevitably Ozai caught it and looked her in the eye, daring her to maintain the sullen gaze for any longer, but she always held back. Then one of the corners of his mouth turned up and everyone thought the Firelord was pleased to see his eminent servant; they saw the placid, pleasant expression on her face.

“Welcome home, Lady Xiang,” said the Firelord; his voice was raspy but sounded pleasant enough when he wanted it to, especially to those whose sexual preference was for men. “It's good to see I still have _some_ strong, loyal firebenders to call upon in this war.” More of his usual cutting jeer now; Michi smiled demurely and bowed:

“Your Majesty, I am always gratified to be of some small use to Firelord and Nation.”

Ozai's face hardened even more exactly when she stopped speaking; it was obviously a planned change: “You can be of some more... little use to me by telling who that man on your left is, why he claims to be one of my special task captains and why he has a ship and crew to back up his claim.” He'd only put minimal steel in his voice, but the deadly threat was obvious to all.

Wu Rui blanched and froze on the spot. Fortunately for him he had been frozen on his spot before the Firelord's latest command and his helmet covered most of his cheeks.

“Oh, captain Wu?” asked Michi, in such a way as to make it clear to everyone that she felt in no way threatened. “He's always been my conveyance to distant lands; Your Majesty's Lord Father kept the _Burning Wind_ and its captain and crew off most of the books. After all it wouldn't do to have a ship designated officially as 'barge of the Firelord's personal assassin'; some people might get the wrong idea.”

Ozai had been leaning forward a little; he straightened. There were a lot of things his “lord” father hadn't told him (3). “I see,” he said, keeping  _ most _ of the bile from his voice. “At least that foul traitor didn't manage to make  _ you  _ fail and die!”

Definitely not what Michi had expected. She made a good effort of keeping her face still and her jaw from inelegantly dropping, but beyond that all she could do was blink quickly: “Lord?”

“Weren't you there, woman?” Ozai snarled, quite inelegantly. “My... _brother..._ _was_ there too, just in time to snatch the victory from Admiral Zhao and ensure the Northern Water Tribe's continuing defiance! Looks like that traitor only ever cared for our Nation's final victory if the lion's share of the glory went to him – _classic Iroh!_ ” The barrier of fire flared up briefly. “No matter, I still have the strongest fleets and armies; those peasants will rue the day they defied the Fire Nation.”

Through the corner of her eye, Michi could see that Rui had settled into standing at attention, content to endure the heat and absorb information. The discovery helped her control the fulminant rage at hearing Iroh – a true Fire Nation patriot if ever there was such a thing – so slandered and the criminal insanity of Zhao's plan brushed over. “It must be a terrible feeling, Your Highness, to suffer such treachery from your own brother.”

“Spare me your sympathy,” sneered the Firelord. “The traitor won't be a problem for long. I've sent Azula to deal with him _and_ the boy – she knows the _terrible feeling_ of being disappointed by a brother only too well.”

That explained her absence. Michi stifled a laugh. Send a girl not yet fifteen to deal with the Dragon of the West, the one living firebender more dangerous than her  _ and _ Prince Zuko, the trained spy and swordsman who had managed to snatch up the Avatar briefly and then escape from the young god's wrath? Even if Ozai was deluded enough to think he'd sired a second Xiang Michi nobody she'd targeted, not the old Earth King, not Pirate Queen Zhenzhen herself, had been in Iroh's league. Well, good riddance to Azula. The only regret Michi had was that Mai would be unhappy at the news – but that wouldn't constitute a  _ change. _

When Michi opened her mouth to make the proper polite noises, Ozai spoke again: “That only leaves the Avatar. It leaves him for  _ you,  _ lady Xiang; you have your... uncannily fast cruiser for transportation and the knowledge that he has travelled to an Earth Kingdom fortress just south of our colonies. He probably intends to learn earthbending. Don't let him; snatch him up and bring him before me.” He brandished Arnook's necklace: “I hope I can at least be confident that  _ you _ won't turn out to be a miserable failure!”

“Of course, Your Highness.”

“The Fire Nation marches to victory wherever it's free of treachery; we've taken the city of Omashu in a quick and easy victory during the siege of the North.” His slimy grin deepened: “Looks like the reputations of its fortifications and that barbarian king of theirs were unfounded. For his distinguished services _and_ yours, I've decided to name your husband governor. You may take a few days off with your family there before setting off on your search.”

There was no way Ozai would know Michi was against him and let her out of his throne room alive, but the promotion was just what her husband Ukano had always dreamed – and worked himself into early ageing – for. What would make him turn on the Firelord  _ now?  _ With a probably-noticeable effort of will she bowed low: “I – we – that is, many thanks, Your Highness! Omashu – that's the Earth Kingdom's – the  _ world's  _ second city, they say a million people live there!”

It was more like one and a quarter, counting all the refugees. Michi realized she was dismissed as soon as the Firelord's gaze stopped focusing on her; she bowed very low, with a motion to Rui to do the same and they walked backwards out of chamber, never turning their backs on the Firelord until they were out of sight.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the long delay, if anybody's interested; things just kept getting in the way.
> 
> Here we have Michi's return home after the "successful mission" and some interaction with Ozai (which mainly involves clamping down of her hatred of him and sucking up to him, though he's always pushing the limits of her self-control, sometimes inadvertently). I could've made this section a lot longer (3-4 chapters easily) but there's still a family reunion to get through and I remember promising to focus more on Aang and Co. After all most people come to an AtlA fic for them (or Azula, Mai and/or Ty Lee).
> 
> Particular notes:  
> 1: 130 jin = 65 kg, a bit high for a woman at about 170cm but Michi has very high muscle tone.  
> 2: Mai's mom may be a steel-hard assassin in this continuity but she's still the same controlling busybody who plagued Mai's existence. It's also a useful personality trait for someone who would not only come up with a plan to upturn the entire social order of the world but actually go through with it and achieve any form of large-scale success without being a psychopathic dictator at the head of a brutal militia (read: a normal revolutionary leader).  
> 3: In my head canon Ozai was held in contempt by his militaristic father for not showing the soldierly prowess of his elder brother. As far as I can glean from the series Ozai has no training or talent for military operations; his only shown offensive initiative is his utterly ridiculous plan of burning the entire Earth Kingdom in the few hours of Sozin's Comet - with 16 airships by my count. This plan is also stopped by 2 teenagers and 2 preteens. Compare and contrast its inspiration: Sozin's eradication of the Air Nomads, an operation as successful as it was grotesque, with at least 12 years' planning and buildup, against a target population that must've been 3-4 orders of magnitude smaller. The Zuko scar incident is also indicative of Ozai's failure as a military commander.


	9. A Rocky Homecoming

Michi arrived at Omashu's gate in much better spirits; she'd had a good fortnight to get her plans in order. Even when she'd voiced her concerns regarding Niyok and Insun to them a somewhat good outcome had happened: the two had laughed at her; despite being the airbender, Insun's little trill had been completely overwhelmed by her large friend's... _impressive_ howls. That Insun could laugh at her was the best sign possible of their progress beyond the master-servant relationship. Better still, the two younger women had agreed to at least consider the matches she would make for them – though she had a nagging feeling Niyok just thought of marriage and childbirth as time-wasting nonsense, minor chores to be completed for Eccentric Michi's benefit.

The city itself was visually stunning, even at night; a colossal built-up area carved out of the living rock of four steep, but rather short mountaintops; the Fire Nation had wasted no time in draping one of its biggest flags over the city's massive walls, just over the gate; above the wall the city's peaks looked ragged and brown against the night sky, from the features of the buildings; a few lights were flickering here and there and Michi could just make out a construction site at the very tip of the city, the largest mountaintop, standing away from the gate, behind the smallest.

At the gate, which was new and metallic, Michi, Insun, Niyok and their guards and baggage train were met with no check-ups of any kind, just its unquestioning opening. Michi instantly disliked her arrival being such open news, but refused to let it dampen her spirits.

The sight of Omashu up close washed away that thought. It was immense and glorious and beautiful, tier upon tier of Earth Kingdom style buildings in all possible configurations, dotted with gardens, Omashu's world-famous mail chutes and the occasional Fire Nation additions. The streets were wide and paved with perfectly aligned setts; the only minor gripes were that the Fire Nation buildings had been erected by an invasion force, not peaceful immigrants, and the signs they bore had none of the names of Michi's co-conspirators or their companies.

A few minutes into the metropolis, the small, lamp-bearing procession was met by a shadowy figure holding a bundle, all but invisible (only Niyok's impenetrable visor had been tracking her) until she stepped languidly into the middle of the road.

“Hi Mom,” she said with the expected bored tone. Mai was similar enough to her mother, but with a rounder, more childish face (though still long, aristocratic and angular next to most women), a permanent and atypical hairdo with hairbuns and an eyebrow-level fringe, no makeup and a permanent, bored scowl; “Dad sent me out here to lead you to the house. He's still _working._ ”

“Mai!” Michi shouted happily, ignoring the snide tone of the last word. She marched up to hug her daughter _(a lady does not run in polite company)_ but Mai cringed back at the last moment, thrusting the bundle into her mother's outstretched arms instead. It contained Tom-Tom, her little brother, who cooed happily at the sight and loving kisses of his mother; his attention quickly turned to the bangs dangling on either side of her face, followed by his chubby, short but accurate arms.

“Ouch!” cried Michi as he seized them, but let him pull at them; she even thought to test his strength by releasing him briefly. Tom-Tom held on gamely and laughed; she quickly grabbed him again and brought him higher. When his pain-hardened mother gave no more funny reactions from pulling at her hair, the baby released it and proceeded to fumble with her face and clothes, even deigning to pay some attention to Insun, who, after bowing low for Mai and receiving a perfunctory nod in return, had begun to fawn over the baby.

Mai's attention had switched to the unfamiliar, armoured and masked figure at her mother's other side: “So, who's this?”

Michi looked up from the baby: “Oh, of course; where are my manners? This is Lan Niyok, one of my closest friends and comrades. Niyok, meet my daughter, Xiang Mai” – Niyok gave Mai a polite enough bow, but with a curt clang of her armour and the arms, fists closed, still at her sides, then Michi brandished her baby: “And my son, Xiang Tom-Tom!”

Niyok repeated the gesture toward him, but with a distinct flavour of hesitation.

Mai was still analysing the giant: she noted the armour was built like a Fire Nation soldier's but not quite; almost certainly female judging by the massive hips and feminine Water Tribe name; the soldiers seemed to accept her. Likely a traitor and spy against her own people, on the Fire Nation's payroll, except her mother would never introduce such scum in polite society and she _insisted_ on counting Mai in that category. Mai's interest would've been piqued, but the first sign of humanity from the faceless, voiceless giant was being awkward around a baby. _Boring._

“Wow, this is such a huge city,” said Insun; “we're lucky you came out to guide us to the Lord's apartments; we'd be hard put to find them otherwise!”

“It's the new Fire Nation style manse at the foot of the Firelord statue they're building,” said Mai snidely; “You can't miss it, even in a dump _this_ size. Come on.”

Mai began to lead them under a row of colossal flying buttresses holding up the very structure of the largest peak of Omashu, crowned as it was now with the massive weight of a steel statue of Ozai, under construction.

“This is such a beautiful city,” said Michi; she was thinking that the Feng King and all ten and a half thousand of his subjects could move in and barely be noticed in Omashu's vastness. Even Yu Dao, the biggest Fire Nation colony in the Earth Kingdom by a considerable margin, was not even a tithe of this city. Mai's answer brought her back to the real world quickly enough:

“There really is no fathoming the depths of my hatred for this place!”

“Mai, your father was appointed _ruler_ of this place!” She'd been about to say Ukano's official title – governor – but it was as good a time as any to start inching them both toward sedition from the Firelord and a heady plan was taking shape in her mind: it might be possible, with a lot of effort and luck, to pull Omashu away from both its former and current allegiance, with Ukano as its new king. Swinging the million man city like that would be a _tremendous_ coup, even if it was a long shot. _**The game is afoot**_ _._ “We're like _royalty_ here; be happy – and enjoy it!”

“I felt my life was boring in the Fire Nation but this place is _unbearably_ bleak!” said Mai, ignoring the disapproving scowl of her mother. “Nothing ever happens!”

“What's that rumble?” asked Insun, looking up to the slope of houses and chutes to the group's left.

An extraordinary change came over Michi at once. No more smiles, no more motherly pouts, just... _hardness._ Mai had never seen her _really_ fight, but the mien she wore as she scanned the slope quickly was certainly her game face – and reminiscent of Azula – no, more like the Firelord.

There was some sort of explosion of earth and stone chunks on the terrace above and it drew everyone's attention. Mai was the youngest and the most accustomed to the night's darkness; she spotted the orange and yellow back of the figure first. Or so she thought.

“The resistance!” cried Michi, pointing the same way. The soldiers began to run that way; there were stairs to climb. Mai was faster. A throwing knife appeared into her hand as if by magic and flew at the figure, who looked down just in time to dodge away from the deadly blade and jump higher; Mai flung several more, trying to lead its confusing pattern to no avail.

Niyok ran up to the terrace just as the first two soldiers were racing up the stairs and sprang impossibly up (with surreptitious aid from Insun), grabbing its lip. Before she could pull herself up, Mai had jumped up to grasp her feet and quickly climbed up the giant, drawing an angry grunt, to head her off and throw more knives and darts at the yellow-orange figure, which seemed to have a couple of accomplices in much more sensible black.

One of these swept a water-whip out of a hip flask and sent the soldiers flying and screaming down the lip of the terrace (Insun cushioned their falls and Michi face-palmed), but Mai jumped over it and Niyok broke it with her chest, barely pausing in her charge.

Mai's attention turned to the waterbender; her next knives were met with a wall of ice, but Mai ran past it; Niyok stopped to bend the ice into an overhead glob and sent icicles raining out of it at the would-be assassins in contretemps with Mai's thrown knives. The bright one turned around and did something with his staff to collapse several tons of scaffolding between them, but Mai got in one last knife before it all came crashing down; it bounced off the hard ground and at his face but he caught it with the staff.

Niyok, having exhausted the stranger's water, pulled out her own reserves, which she kept at all times under her armour; she formed the water into a great scoop which cleared all the debris before they could even settle and flung them contemptuously over the terrace's edge.

Mai had time to fling one more knife before the ground lowered under the three fugitives, swallowing them and their gasps and reforming into its normal solidity as if they'd never been there. Niyok's water shaped itself into a head-sized fist and slammed into it, making a four inch deep dent in it ringed with cracks, but to no avail; its controller took a rest stance and the water flew back to her, hiding itself under her armour. The giant slammed her real fist into the slope, which was built up with large bricks, leaving another dent, this time less than one inch.

Mai just sighed and turned away. No catch, no fight, no chase... even Niyok was a disappointment, being just what she'd thought, waterbender and all.

 

The next thing she heard was an argument between the two soldiers the waterbender had thrown off the terrace.

“Yeah, she saved our lives,” one of them said, “but that doesn't make airbenders any less illegal! Come on, Zai, this is serious!”

“ _Yes,_ Yang, it is,” said the other man angrily. Mai didn't know his face; he had green eyes and his features spoke less of the Fire Nation and more of the Eastern Earth Kingdom. “Aren't you a _soldier?_ What kind of shit gives over the woman who saved his _life_ to be executed?”

“Look, man, I don't like it any more than you but Firelord Sozin's orders still stand: any and all airbenders-”

“Air _Nomads,_ ” said Michi over him, walking into the discussion. Her voice was steely and hard; Mai didn't hear her talk like that very often. “Firelord Sozin ordered any and all Air _Nomads_ found are to be put to death (1). Insun here is six generations removed from her last Air Nomad ancestors.”

Insun, who had been hiding herself behind Michi, gave her a look: “Huh?”

“Still, there is no specific law that forbids airbending itself that I know of and if there is I'm sure any judge would make allowance for saving the lives of Fire Nation soldiers.”

Mai was surprised at her mother; she was still being overbearing like always but on a wholly different level. Her tone admitted no back-chat. Mai herself wouldn't talk back at that voice. Yang only bowed very low and said: “Then I beg your pardon, Miss Kong. My remarks were out of place; I'll try to be better informed in the future.”

“It's alright,” said Insun, trying gamely to smile a little.

“They got away,” Mai finally said. “That kid in bright yellow and orange had some fancy moves, but I have no idea what he was doing wearing those clothes.”

“Bright yellow and orange?” asked Michi. “Air Nomad monks' robes were those colours. Only the Avatar wears them now! But I've seen his power; if it were him...” she shuddered: “Let's just say he wouldn't have to run even from you and Niyok. A copycat, do you think?”

“I've heard a lot of stories about Avatar imitators running around in the Earth Provinces,” said Yang. “I even helped catch one; most of them are rebels and vigilantes.”

“The Fire Nation took this city without any real fight, right?” demanded Michi, even sharper. “You've been here less than three months;  _ why is there already a resistance?” _

Michi hadn't exactly shouted but Yang wilted under her question.

“They say most of the city's magistrates and soldiers didn't take King Bumi's decision to surrender all that well, milady,” said Zai. “The whole thing might have been a ruse on his part; Bumi may be known for zany nonsense, but he _should_ be known for how well he plays the long game. I'd bet a golden Azulon they're in rebellion now!”

“No bet from me,” said Michi, smiling sardonically. “Anyway, let's head on home, wherever that is. Lead the way, Mai.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 1: Airbender and Air Nomad are almost completely interchangeable in the show; eventually only Zaheer is ever shown or mentioned as being one but never the other and he's very deeply entrenched in Air Nomad culture too. It's a possible mistake even for Sozin; if he didn't make it, Michi of all people would be able to sell her lie.
> 
> 18/05/15: Added a missing word


	10. The Plague of Errors

After sleeping on ships for the past months Michi was ready to welcome any homecoming, even to a hastily cobbled together villa in the middle of a huge Earth Kingdom city. Despite being even more overworked and weary than usual, Ukano had welcomed her with warm congratulations, a rather lovely poem (that Mai, of course, hated) and, after a dragon fire massage, for which she had him keep his eyes firmly shut as usual, pushed himself to make love to her three times. What Ukano lacked in vigour, being a good five years her senior and even more battered and damaged in his own way, he more than made up in skill. The agitation kept him from sleeping for a while – an atypical result even for Xiang “Sleepless” Ukano, as he was known among the other bureaucrats and nobles – and they chatted about the wear and tear of The Service before falling asleep.

Best of all, he had accepted Insun's airbending, Michi's deliberate use of “ruler” instead of “governor” and the presence of Lan Niyok with very little comment.

After breakfast the whole family relaxed on their balcony, overlooking most of the city, with a few guards including Niyok. Insun brought Mai a large bowl of fireflakes. The bustling city was far more impressive in daylight. It was also very crowded – the city's population had been engorged by more than half with refugees before the attack; now, with the only reliable entrance to the city guarded by one of the ten thousands of Fire Nation soldiers present, there was nowhere to go and an additional smattering of Fire Nationals beyond the soldiers, mostly their families.

The whole city was alive with construction, as Ukano had ordered a great build-up of blockhouses and manufactories to house the extra population and provide it with work. He was pouring most of his personal fortune into the work and had persuaded General Ittei, the garrison's commander, to part with most of his own as well. King Bumi's treasury had also been all but emptied, most of the royal jewels and possessions sold off and there was no end of paperwork, which dominated even Ukano's after-breakfast “down time.” Michi occasionally turned away from the city's sights to peek over his shoulder at it, but she might as well have been illiterate.

After one such peek, she was shaking her head quickly to dismiss the Byzantine phrases she'd just read when she noticed Niyok pointing down at the gatehouse vehemently.

The villa was so placed that the entrance to Omashu was clearly visible from it, along with the plaza it led into, just beyond the peak of the smaller mountain. A green-clad crowd was gathering there. Michi set Tom-Tom down: “Insun! Telescopes, please!”

The little airbender vanished in haste; half a minute later she was back with another servant, bearing six telescopes between them.

So equipped, the nobles and soldiers could see a bizarre scene unfold at the gatehouse: a crowd of Omashu citizens in their almost universally light green robes had gathered in the plaza, but not, it seemed, to protest; they moved much too languidly for that; some were pawing and scratching at their faces. At least one collapsed. The soldiers were keeping them away at spear point, but they were clearly terrified, beyond what a crowd of even that size should produce when not obviously violent.

A soldier started to beat an alarm on a thick metal band designed to carry over great distances; they heard it even at the governor's mansion.

“Plague alarm? What is going on down there?” Ukano asked.

“One of my patrols saw some kids yesterday with penta-pox,” said a guard captain.

Niyok turned on him with utter contempt: “What's _penta-pox?”_

“It must have spread,” the captain went on, wilting under the giant's anger.

Ukano picked at his beard: “Hmm... I'm pretty sure I've heard of that.”

“There aren't any Fire Nationals among that crowd,” said Michi; “curious.”

“What should we do?” asked the captain, terrified out of his wits.

“Drive them out of the city,” said Ukano, putting all the steel he could muster in his voice. “Just don't touch them! We have to rid the city of this plague while we still can!”

“I'll signal the guardhouse,” said Michi, but her eyes were narrow with suspicion. She began to throw very large and puffy fireblasts at precise intervals into the air, where they soon dissipated. She could tell that Niyok was scowling at her through the mask. “I know this is fishy, but that's hardly worth the risk of a real plague!”

The giant nodded curtly.

“Captain, have patrols scour the rest of the city, there might be more!”

The captain bowed and left at a jog.

“I'll help,” said Niyok; “Insun.”

Insun rushed to her side, trying to keep up with the waterbender's long stride; after several steps she thought to look back to Ukano and Michi for approval; they nodded in unison.

In the plaza, the Fire Nation soldiers had opened the gate and were corralling the sick crowd out at spear point, keeping their distance. The people seemed to be cooperating.

Mai had looked on in silence the whole time, munching at the little pastries in her bowl. When everyone else was silent she held it out to Ukano: “Fireflakes, Dad?”

He scowled at her but said nothing. Michi had just realized the three of them were alone on the balcony. She double-checked quickly: “Where's Tom-Tom?”

 

 

It was not until dusk that the Xiangs completely abandoned the idea that he was lost in the villa. Ukano and Michi both stooped and went quiet for a while; he was angry, quietly working his jaws and fists; she was above all deeply humiliated.

“I'm a horrible mother,” she told Mai; “yes, I said it. I made a mess of things with you and now this! Mind, I never _lost_ you quite like this; must be getting worse with age!”

Mai could've said any number of snide remarks but she held off. Her mother was red-faced and seemed on the cusp of breaking down into a sob, so she upped a handkerchief out of her baggy black sleeve and handed it to her.

Michi took it without looking: “Thank you dear, but I'm stupid, not weak,” and returned it.

“So, the resistance managed to kidnap my son right from under my nose! Always so clever, so tricky... just like their King Bumi!”

“What should we do, sir?” said Zai, the sergeant in charge of Michi's "guards".

“We...” Ukano hesitated at length, weighing son against duty. “We'll offer an exchange,” he said in the end, sounding defeated. “We'll give them back their king.”

“No,” said Michi.

“What?” Ukano shouted. “That's our _son_ out there with those people!”

“I'm well aware, dear.” The tone was unmistakable and chilling: that of a killer on the hunt: “We will of course offer the trade. I will handle it personally; Mai, Niyok, Insun, Zai and his men will wait in ambush at the meeting site. When the resistance's party show their faces, we will wipe them off the face of the Earth and recover our son. Where is King Bumi anyway?”

“I don't like that,” said Ukano. “The Resistance will only gain support if I act like an oath-breaker – aside from that, I don't want to become one unless I need to.”

“Ukano, I love you and I don't want to make a scene,” said Michi, standing up, her voice rising into every indication of a scene; “I love Mai and I love Tom-Tom but I will see all three of you, myself and all this city _dead_ before I cave in to any terrorist's demands!”

“Mom, you're getting ahead of yourself,” said Mai, as calm and unflappable as ever. “The resistance didn't demand anything; it's Dad who offered.”

“Yes,” said Insun, grasping quickly on the potential to defuse Michi, who seemed set to explode. “We don't even know they have Tom-Tom! In effect, Lord Xiang's just paying them to find and return him with the freedom of their _very old_ king – where's this Bumi person anyway?”

 

When Michi and her party were led to the Ozai statue's construction site they found the deposed king of Omashu dangling in the air in a metal coffin, though still alive. There was only a small window for his face. “Hello, Xiang,” Bumi called with his eternal big grin, but none too cordially.

Michi looked at Niyok; Niyok closed her right fist then briefly extended two fingers in a downward-pointing two-finger salute, twice – the Sangok Fleet sign for “it's time to choose one way or another”, repeated for emphasis.

Michi looked down, then, with the sorrow of a mourner, to Ukano; he shot her back an inquiring look but she turned away and said in a businesslike tone: “Mr. Zai, get the king down from there and have him sent to my apartments! I need to talk to him in private.”

Ukano gave a start: “Zai, stay where you are!” The soldier, who had begun to move and raise a hand for his subordinates, stopped and froze. “Look, Michi, I know you're one of the few people who could stand up to that man in single combat but he's too dangerous, too wily – I wouldn't have confined him like that otherwise!”

He had no way of knowing that in Sangok's fleet/kingdom, that didn't matter. If an opponent was _too dangerous,_ they were killed, simple as that. “So sorry, dear: state business. This comes directly from the top.”

Ukano furrowed his brows: “You mean... the Firelord...”

_Sure, the Firelord; let's go with that._

“Mr. Zai, you may continue,” snapped Michi, startling Zai back into movement; he began to shout the appropriate orders. “Among other things I was tasked with interviewing King Bumi,” Michi continued. “As things stand I will have to do it now or never. Insun, you will kindly see that the king receives every courtesy due his rank and looks his part before we sit down for tea in one hour; prepare a bath for me and The Box.” Insun feebly suppressed a worried gasp. “Feel free to use airbending to make better time. Niyok, help Zai and the men with the king.”

The giant gave her the usual curt nod, turned on her heels and marched away with Zai. Insun, who always preferred to carry her glider staff when out of doors, extended it and flew off.

“Interview... 'the box'? Is that what they're calling it now?” muttered one of Ukano's guards with an elbow in the ribs for his closest comrade; they were both grinning.

Zai wheeled back on him at once and roared: “SILENCE IN THE RANKS! Yang, control your _damned_ rabble!” Especially at the enlisted ranks it was gross disrespect to berate a junior not in one's chain of command in this fashion; Yang went very white. A baleful glare by his superior, the guard captain, silenced any protest, though.

The king's confinement was best Fire Nation steel, but still no match for a few determined men with crowbars; they pried it open brutally, breaking its locking clamps outright, careful only with the man within. By the time they had Bumi out the steel coffin was useless. The king himself was grinning gamely, pulling faces and cracking jokes; instead of the expected decrepit, ancient, broken and possibly dying prisoner, he was sturdy, far less dirty than he should have been with only small traces of his own filth down the insides of his legs and on his only piece of clothing – a martial artist's kilt. A shaggy beard had grown to cover his lower face entirely. The satisfied thumps when his soles touched the ground resonated through the whole mountain; all Fire Nation personnel in attendance except Michi and her coterie jumped at it and brandished spears at the king.

“Put those away,” said Michi angrily. “He's not doing anything!” Then she turned to Bumi with a deep bow: “Your Grace, if you will walk with me, my people will see to your needs.”

Bumi stooped to take a very close look at her; their noses almost touched: “Heeey, I think I know you! Aren't you that girl who killed the Earth King twenty-odd years ago?”

Michi chuckled and put a hand to her mouth: “Oh, you remember that? I'm flattered, Sire! Well then, shall we?” And she gestured toward the stairs that led down into the city centre.

“I... don't think I was trying to flatter you,” said Bumi, cocking an eyebrow, but he followed.

 

When Ukano saw the old man again almost an hour later he thought they'd plucked him up from three months in the past; he was even cleaner and more neatly groomed than that time. He was chatting with Insun, who was leading him; right in front of Ukano she broke into an uncontrollable fit of shrieking, heaving laughter; the king only chuckled. Then one of Zai's men opened a door and they stepped in, followed by Michi.

She was an eye-opener as well; gone was the Fire Nation noblewoman's gown, replaced by a suit of loose trousers, jacket, light shoes and cap, all in jet black silk with dragon motifs on the jacket, done in gleaming gold – and on the gut, a round crest with the symbols of all four elements. Ukano wondered at that; he had no way of knowing it was the main part and official dress of Sangok's gift, contained in Michi's ominously referenced Box: an optional position as his ambassador and official counsellor, which would come with a title of land and nobility in the Feng King's emerging kingdom. When the governor made to follow her in her giant friend stepped out, closed the door, blocked it with her bulk and folded her arms.

Flustered, the governor hesitated before taking the last step forward he had room for: “Could you step aside? My wife and I are to interview the prisoner-”

The huge head shook. The soldier thought to elaborate: “Sir, your wife's orders were that nobody but herself, the king and Miss Kong be allowed-”

“Don't be silly, surely those orders don't apply to me! Come, Madam, step aside.” In response Niyok half-drew her sword. It was the wrong move; as a noble of the Fire Nation Ukano had been drilled from birth to be brave, even though he'd never seen a day of battle. “I'm pretty confident Michi's orders, whatever they were, don't include attacking _me!_ ”

The soldier backhanded Niyok's arm: “He's right there; put that thing away, you great lump!” Her gleaming face mask turned on him briefly; she put the sword away.

Ukano was staring holes into her: “I am the governor of Omashu and this is my house.”

“So sorry sir, but we have our orders. The Lady Xiang said to tell you that you should get more rest and that King Bumi can be even more tiring to converse with than to fight; she'll give you the 'sane version' (her words) later.”

That certainly sounded like Michi to him. Ukano conceded the point and went to try and get some sleep. He had no luck until, around midnight, Michi returned in her nightclothes, looking spent and – unusually – her own age. “I'm convinced the king is not behind this kidnapping, nor does he approve of it,” she said, “however he will stand by his people. He has refused to... reveal anything to me.”

There was something odd about the gap before “reveal,” as if that word had been superimposed over another. But Ukano had bigger worries. “Did you have him suspended away from the ground again?” he asked.

For the briefest moment, it seemed to him that Michi's weary face was enlivened by a glare of extreme contempt directed his way. The feeling disappeared as quickly as it had appeared. She just said “No, but he's behaving well” and settled into bed beside him.

Ukano, though haggard with fatigue and worry himself, thought to comfort her as a husband might comfort his wife – soothing noises, petting, he was even willing to risk sex – but Michi firmly and politely rejected his approaches and went to sleep.

Michi brought no succour for his worries this time, but her presence still made him feel safer and he fell asleep – somewhat. It was short, fitful, often interrupted and not restful, but when Ukano and Michi woke up and the servants appeared quietly to aid in their morning routine and the world didn't collapse on their heads, they both allowed themselves to feel faint glimmerings of optimism.

Then Zai knocked at the door and was allowed in to bring his news. Princess Azula had entered Omashu with the dawn.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've been wondering at Bumi's confinement during the Fire Nation occupation of Omashu, which seems to have extended months beyond the "Return to Omashu" episode in both directions.  
> The old mad genius earthbending king makes light of it and escapes apparently none the worse for wear but that doesn't make it less problematic. Consider the logical consequences of keeping a person confined in that way for half a year.  
> In fact I've been wondering about the excessively cruel confinements and prisons employed in the series - not just by villains, either! What's with these rating systems on TV? Putting someone or a number of someones through grotesque, dehumanizing confinement and brainwashing OK, but deaths in battle or by execution, which are quick and clean by comparison, that's too much? Note, this isn't a complaint against the show itself. Props to them for daring to show despotic regimes in all their hideous barbarism.


	11. The Enemy's Child

Even though Aang had stayed in Omashu to find his friend the king, the Resistance's exit had gone off without a hitch and Katara was very happy, especially for her brother Sokka, the escape's chief architect. He was marching proudly with an Omashu captain on each side and though the tall, broad, even burly men were each almost twice his size he still looked more man than boy; and he was bursting with more plans.

Most of the active Resistance and their families were now safely out of Omashu; a smattering of operatives had been left behind to quietly induce more people to smuggle themselves out of the city. Sokka was shooting off plan after plan to get more people out in his usual, excited rapid-fire chatter; the captains nodded sombrely. If the Fire Nation could not be denied Omashu's buildings they would be denied its people. Even with the prospect of a harsh life in the mountains between the City and the Desert of Death, as long as the Fire Nation couldn't tell what they were up to, the peril they posed to it would grow every day.

After a couple hours' walking, the several thousand strong column stopped in a canyon that was safely tucked away in among the jagged, inhospitable crags, away from Fire Nation eyes; here they set up camp, generally in good cheer and the head count began.

Katara and Sokka had little to do with it beyond being counted themselves; they set about the manifold chores that came with trekking out of doors for months on end and in danger's teeth: they washed and repaired the clothes they weren't wearing; they participated in the ordering and rationing of the manifold supplies all the Resistance had hidden in their clothes, many bringing as much as their own weight in food and medicine; they laughed at everybody's fading “penta-pox” marks and helped treat many very real injuries and ails.

Omashu's people, most of whom had never seen a waterbender, let alone one with healing talents, were very impressed at Katara's powers, which she used liberally through the afternoon and evening, but she was also quick to point out to anyone who would listen how useful Sokka's water filters were: cones of leather filled with layers of charcoal, sand, grass and such in which dubious, even murky water from the river was poured and came clean on the other side; there were few patients brought before her that day she would have dared to use unfiltered water on.

 

Aang returned just after nightfall, with the king's huge, prized pet Flopsie, the only tame goat-gorilla in the world. He looked crushed: “We looked everywhere – no Bumi.”

Katara wrapped him in a protective hug; hearing Flopsie growl sadly, Sokka hugged the monster's face and they all stood there silently for a moment, until Yung, the resistance leader and Bumi's former Captain General of the Omashu Army, marched in: “We've got a problem! We just finished the head count.”

“Oh no,” said Katara. “Did we leave someone behind?”

“No, we have an extra,” said Yung and pointed to his left. Momo, Aang's pet lemur, was there, yowling and struggling to divest himself of a giggling burden: a baby boy in white and pink silk pyjamas with Fire Nation emblems sewn in.

Aang, Sokka and Katara stared at him in rapt fascination, even through the lemur's piteous screeching; the waterbender came to her senses first and plucked the baby up: “Hey there little guy; how'd you get lost from your mummy?”

Momo collapsed on his face, moaning, equal parts exhausted and relieved.

Yung shrugged: “Well, let's sit down for dinner and try to figure this out.”

More campfires were lit as his words spread through the throng and pots were soon over them. Driven by instinct, Katara left the baby near Sokka to help with the large pot of water two soldiers had brought up as they began to dip the meat and vegetables of the gravy in; Momo, attracted by the food, trudged along wearily in front of the young warrior and the baby began to follow him at once, but the whiteness of Sokka's decorated war club with blue knob distracted him. Just as Katara sat down in a seiza, he tumbled onto his bum, picked it up and tried to suck on its end.

Sokka snatched it out of his hands: “No! _Bad_ Fire Nation baby.” The baby stretched out his chubby hands and began to cry almost at once. Katara backhanded her brother's chin lightly and he relented: “Oh, alright!”

The boy's cries stopped immediately and he began to play with the blunt weapon. Katara leaned over him, cooing and kissing him, in the throes of a cuteness attack.

Sokka planted jaw on hand languidly, with a long-suffering, bored look on his face.

Yung was not impressed. “Sure, he looks cute now, but when he's older he'll join the Fire Nation Army. You won't think he's so adorable then! He'll be a killer.”

Katara picked him up, so the cherubic face with a single tuft of dark hair falling on his brow faced Yung: “Come on, does this look like the face of a killer to you?”

The general remained unimpressed. The shriek of a predatory bird drew their attention.

“A messenger hawk!” said someone.

“There,” said Sokka; his young eyes serving him well. “It's that huge, white one!”

Indeed, a messenger hawk with pure white plumage, red eyes and several scars made conspicuous by missing plumage had perched on a high outcropping of rock, some thirty yards away. She was easily twice as large as an ordinary member of her race and finally drew a strong reaction from Yung. That reaction was barely-restrained horror. “No,” he said; “not _her._ ” Sokka had made to approach the bird, but the words stopped him. He looked back. “That hawk belongs to Xiang Michi, the Firelord's assassin!”

That drew a long, firm step backwards from Sokka; he gulped but tried to approach again, but Aang was faster. He vaulted with airbending to clear most of the distance and retrieved the cylinder with confident but not sudden movements, as Kuzon had taught him in the somehow distant past - to him, little more than a year had passed. He fished out the letter inside and opened it. The writing was crisp and tiny, done in an extremely fine brush, if not a solid, sharp tip. “It's from that Xiang Michi person; she claims to be the governor's wife,” he said. “She thinks we kidnapped her son, so... she wants to make a trade – Tom-Tom, that's the son I guess... for _King Bumi!_ ”

“Right,” Yung spat out. “I'm _sure_ that's not a trap at all! That woman is evil. I wouldn't put it past her to spring a trap even with her son as bait, or throw away his life just to get an edge! They say her husband's governor in Omashu only because _she_ managed to assassinate a Northern Water Tribe chieftain – what was his name?”

The blood rushed into Sokka's cheeks. “Arnook,” he snarled. “Yeah, the Chief _was_ killed by a firebender woman; we just didn't know who it was!” He grinned wolfishly and rubbed his palms: “Ho-ho, this is good, this is good! We got her son!”

Katara's motherly instincts were already powerful and well-exercised thanks to Aang, Sokka himself and all the young of her village. She wrapped Tom-Tom protectively and scowled at her brother: “Hey, he's just a baby!”

“Yeah, and that's great! All we have to do is keep going on our own way and take him with us, maybe leave him with a nice foster family if we can find someplace good!” He looked at Yung: “It's his best chance to grow up into something other than a Fire Nation killer – and this way, that _bitch_ loses her son!”

Katara was startled; she'd heard older men use the harsher swear words before, but never Sokka. Despite his huge grin, his eyes were wide and bis brow was furrowed at the lower middle with rage. After Yue had ascended as the Moon Spirit, he'd taken Chief Arnook's death the hardest, for the old man had been Sokka's last physical link to her.

“ _Sokka,”_ she said softly. “The boy is happy, energetic and unafraid; whatever else she is we can't know this Michi woman mistreated her own child. We can't keep him from her.” Her voice broke slightly: “We of all people can't do that.”

“Katara's right,” said Aang.

“Sure we can,” snapped Yung. “Sorry, Avatar, but King Bumi made his own choice! I'm not about to see this boy handed over for the most dangerous killer in the world to raise!”

“It could still be a trap,” said Sokka vehemently. “For all we know these rich Fire Nation types don't even care about their babies! The Firelord sent _his own son_ around the world to hunt for the Avatar, before anyone even knew there even _was_ an Avatar for him to find!”

“And burned his face,” said Yung.

Sokka almost jumped out of his skin (Aang as well): “His  _father_ did that?”

Yung told them in brief what he knew of the fateful Agni Kai between Ozai and his son.

Katara looked into Tom-Tom's cute, chubby and very much intact face and wondered. If the Firelord would treat his son so badly, why not the Firelord's assassin? On the other hand, she was at least pretending to offer the life and freedom of Bumi, one of the strongest earthbenders around, for her boy; she must know that the old king would be an ideal Earthbending teacher for Aang.

“We can at least talk to her,” said Aang. “The rendezvous she gave us was at the Firelord statue building site, noon tomorrow. I think this Lady Xiang is the same person who shot lightning at La and me in the North.” Aang's voice dropped very low when he said “the North.”

“The one who got lifted out of the ship by someone with a Mechanist type glider?” asked Sokka. “What if she can hurt you with that lightning when you're not inside a huge spirit-monster?”

“I'll just have to stay out of it,” said Aang; “back then, someone else picked her up. I get the feeling she didn't want to be picked up either, but to stay and buy time for the rest of the navy to find a way to fight back against La and me, or run away. She was prepared to _die_ for them.”

Katara saw that Yung and Sokka were moved, but not exactly convinced. “Maybe we should sleep on it and decide in the morning,” she said. “Either way, we'll have plenty of time.”

That suggestion touched upon Yung's soldierly instinct at once. Getting enough sleep was a rare luxury in times of war. “Very good; let's all eat dinner, hit the sack and sort this out tomorrow. Send an affirmative response with the bird; cost us nothing, even if nobody goes.”

 

The good night's rest and the hot meals on either side of it served them all well; when Aang announced that he was still very much of a mind to take the child back to his mother, along with a few words about a mother's responsibility if he could get them in. Yung, who was much readier to accept that his people were safe after they'd spent a night without incident, accepted Katara's proposal that they not stoop to the level of the Fire Nation and return Michi's baby to her; if they got Bumi released along the way, so much the better.

It was only natural that the mission fall to the Avatar and his companions – they had the mobility, by way of Appa; they were used to riding him, to working together; and if things got sour the boy and bison pair of airbenders would only be able to extract a small team.

Only Sokka was less than convinced. He did his part with breakfast and the preparations in silence, but when everything was ready he couldn't resist: “You do realize we're probably flying right into a trap, right?”

“I'm not sure,” said Aang. “The Xiangs probably want their son back as much as we want Bumi. It's a new day; I have a good feeling about this.”

Sokka took a brief look at his friend's face. Aang was the Avatar, with knowledge and power beyond any mortal at his disposal, a god made flesh; he was also an optimistic, good-natured kid made even more so by the infectious cuteness of the toddler in his arms. He smiled and shrugged to Katara as to say “what can you do?” and that was that.


	12. An Azula Morning

The Xiangs caught a quick breakfast before the princess's arrival. Of course, they'd have to offer her one again and eat with her if she wanted to, but none of their servants were familiar with Azula's routine or meal times and Michi had let it slip to all of them at one time or another that Ozai's daughter was just as fickle and unreasonable as he.

For Michi, it was an unmitigated disaster, only nobody else knew except probably Insun, who could be expected to be aware of all of her tells. Suddenly out of time, she'd started to subtly criticize the princess, probing for any seed of disloyalty to water in her husband, but there was none to be found: Ukano and Mai were equal parts terrified and admiring of Azula.

Worse still, the latter was as close to jittery as Michi had ever seen her and all but admitted that she couldn't wait to see the princess. Mai had graduated the Royal Fire Academy a year early, last summer, along with Azula, who had been two years early; at once, the Firelord had sent them on a couple of rebel-squashing missions along with another classmate, Ty Lee, who had since run off to join the circus. Azula and Mai had affected not to be too distraught but it had been a scandal and a half even without them!

Michi had planted the idea of a foreign posting for Ukano in Ozai's head precisely so that physical distance from the Firelord and Azula would allow her to erode his and Mai's loyalty to them; that plan now in shambles, she fell into despondency, doubting more and more even that the resistance would return her son instead of just killing or adopting him.

Mai sauntered out to welcome Azula as soon as her mother excused her from the table. Michi retired to the balcony to observe from above, with Insun in tow; the little airbender gave her a large mug of soothing tea, which Michi finished quickly in a few long sips.

“Thank you, one is enough,” she said when Insun offered a refill; “I may need my reflexes today. Ah, here she comes.”

The massive, veiled palanquin was lowered to the ground right in front of the main staircase to the villa, where Mai waited, and out came Azula, marching like a soldier and dressed in a practical travelling suit; she hardly ever wore anything more constraining than that.

Ty Lee appeared by her side in a rather... skimpy outfit that showed off her midriff; in the perpetually summery Fire Nation, common young women and especially performers would often display themselves even more shamelessly than that, but not the nobility; Mai and Azula at least understood as much.

Mai bowed to Azula, not very low, as to a friend: “Please tell me you're here to kill me,” she said, then shared a laugh and a quick hug with the princess and a longer one with Ty Lee.

Michi had schooled herself all her life that a proper lady does not display her anger at all, let alone throw things like a drunken tavern bum. It all drowned in the blind, unthinking rage. With a contorted grimace she flung the empty teacup at Azula's head, but it was stopped by a gale of wind as soon as it came out of her hand and landed neatly in Insun's.

The airbender hissed desperately: “Michi, you can't! Calm yourself! What if someone saw that just now?” When she received no immediate reply, she asked, “Should I tell Lord Xiang and the princess that you've taken ill and can't join them?”

Michi pinched the bridge of her own nose and closed her eyes: “No. I'll manage it... just give me another cup of that tea – I promise I will not throw it.”

The airbender let the doubt show in her eyes and brows but obeyed out of habit. Michi drank as rapidly as she could without unladylike slurping and handed her back the empty cup. Insun put it and the kettle on a small, tall table, safely out of her lady's reach.

“Uh... you don't look your best,” she said tentatively. “Let's freshen you up quickly.”

“Yes, of course; Insun... I do beg your pardon for all of this.”

“Huh? I – it's quite alright, come on, come on.”

 

When she knelt on a cushion by her husband's side, facing Azula as she lounged lazily on his throne, which was too big for her, Michi _was_ looking her best, or very near: her face a discreetly-rouged, perfect mask of demure impassivity, her silk robes folded just _so_ around her, the hair styled flawlessly if simply, the faint perfume hanging about her at the edge of perception.

Even seeing Mai and the Ty Lee girl, neither with a scrap of official position to their names, kneeling on the other two cushions as close to the exalted royal as the top-ranking governor and agent of the Fire Nation, she only gave each a small nod. The Imperial Firebenders might as well have been made of terracotta. The princess held the prerogative of opening any discussion; she snapped: “That scared face suits you, Xiang! What's this about eight thousand (1) of my father's working subjects leaving the city without permission?”

“They-they faked a plague, Your Highness,” said Ukano, grasping desperately for his courage.

“It was an easy choice, Your Highness,” Michi put in helpfully. “Rather lose a few runaways than risk the largest population centre under the Firelord's rule if the plague was real. Eight thousand rebels are nothing: worldwide, our armed forces kill that many in a slow month.”

“I didn't know command decisions were part of an assassin's job,” Azula said snidely.

Michi's eyes widened briefly. She paused just too long before replying: “No; my mistake.”

“Besides, as someone who actually knows a fair bit of what goes on with our armed forces, I can tell you eight thousand kills is hardly a slow month.”

“I apologize,” said Ukano; “you've come to Omashu at a difficult time! At noon we're making a trade with the resistance to get Tom-Tom back!”

“Yes,” said Azula coldly. “I'm so sorry to hear about your son – but really, what did you expect by letting the city's worst citizens leave?” She stood and put steel in her voice: “My father has trusted you with this, the greatest city in the world beside Ba Sing Se – and you're making a _mess of things_.”

“Forgive me, Princess,” said Ukano softly and kowtowed, along with Mai and Ty Lee, as Azula began to stride toward the door. Michi didn't join the gesture; rather, she stood up and turned her back to a smaller door on the same wall.

“Please excuse me, Your Highness,” she said, before Azula could renew her tirade. “I must attend to recovering my son.” Ukano gave her a brief, startled stare but she ignored him.

“No, you stay here,” said Azula. “Mai will handle the hostage exchange, so _you_ don't have a chance to _mess it up_. And there is no more Omashu: I'm renaming it in honour of my father – the city of New Ozai!”

Michi's vision was marred by black spots. With a supreme effort of will and a deep breath she mastered herself and spoke calmly: “So sorry, Your Highness, but we're not even certain they will show up: I wouldn't want you to waste your time or trouble yourself over such trivial matters. Of course, if you still wish come along, be my guest; you will find the rendezvous place by following me there – I will wear black with gold. Again, please excuse-”

“Excuse _me,_ but that sounds an awful lot like insubordination _,”_ said Azula, well short of shouting, but her voice filled the room. There was an awful moment of silence.

“Perhaps, but consider His Highness your father,” said Michi and shrugged: “If we are to tell him that I of all people had to rely on someone else to retrieve my own child, I might as well kill myself right now and spare you or him the trouble.”

“I see,” said Azula, her voice in the same cold timbre it always had but clearly an octave equivalent of threat lower to the initiated listener. “Well, I'll be there to see first hand how the great Xiang Michi handles herself. Meantime, I heard another very interesting thing: it seems your maidservant, Kong Insun, is an _airbender!_ That's a rare gift – I do believe she's the only airbender I know of for certain except the Avatar – and since I can expect to encounter _him_ on my mission, I'd like to spar with her for a bit, you know, to familiarize myself with fighting airbenders.”

Michi's face twitched as if touched by a drop of acid. The casual, drawling way Azula said the last sentence left no doubt in her mind that the princess intended to bully Insun for fun at the very least and hold her life for ransom against Michi's good behaviour.

Insun was also in the room, ready with tea and refreshments on hand carried by younger girls, all doing their best to be invisible until needed. She now flinched in a most inelegant fashion.

“Sorry again, but Insun knows little of martial arts,” said Michi. “Also, a small point of order: she is my _estate manager,_ not my maidservant.”

Insun blinked rapidly. That was new!

“You think it's wise to thwart me twice in one conversation?” the princess demanded. Below the slightly peeved exterior, she was almost certainly seething with rage.

“Thwart? Indeed I am not, Your Highness,” said Michi, her calm tone and demeanour starting to crack. “The Firelord clarified matters quite well for me that time you lit up an apple on my daughter's head.” Mai actually turned briefly to give her a miffed look.“All I'm saying is, you won't glean any experience from... sparring with Insun that would help against the Avatar.”

Azula shot a baleful look at Insun, who recoiled from her in obvious terror and kowtowed. Then she turned back to the assassin: “I've heard a lot of wonderful things about you, Michi. So far you're nothing but a big fat pile of brown and pink disappointment.” She slowly waved the back of her hand: “Dismiss!” Michi immediately backed out through the small door; the princess, along with Mai, Ty Lee and the masked guards, left through the large one, Insun nudged one of the girls and darted after Michi with her.

Ukano was left alone in the room with the other one, both cold and wet with fear-sweat. One question loomed above all others in the governor's mind: _What the frosts of hell is Michi thinking, to antagonize the princess like that?_ Finally his power of speech returned: “Jasmine tea, please!”

 

Insun could have told him exactly what Michi was thinking, if she'd wanted to and if she weren't flying the Lady's personal chest, containing all the important papers and the last-emergency funds, to the hideout Zai had scouted out for them; he and his men had finished moving the bulk of Michi's and their own possessions, under the guise of preparing to hunt for Resistance spies and envoys, but only the assassin herself ever touched or opened the Small Chest: until today. The unexpected promotion had brought access and one of the two keys to it, along with orders to read all the papers until she became familiar with them, in case both they and Michi were destroyed and an ally needed to know something.

Absorbed in her thoughts, particularly a cold dread of the dark secrets that must await inside the bejewelled teak box, Insun didn't notice Appa when he passed almost directly above her in the opposite direction. The bison and his passengers were likewise too preoccupied.

 

When Michi emerged again from the recesses of her quarters, she was in her black with gold suit as she'd promised; with her were Niyok and Bumi, in her usual armour and his favourite, purple royal robes that bullied the eye, respectively; the women were holding him at sword point.

Azula dropped her frugal lunch at once to follow them, with Mai, Ty Lee and ten Imperial Firebenders in tow. “Whatever I said, I'll give your mom this: she's brave! Never mind that we're here to control the old fool if he tries anything, I can't tell if letting him touch the ground is a domination tactic or just plain reckless.”

“I don't think Mom would've lasted so long in her job if she was reckless,” said Mai.

“Understood,” said Azula, then over her shoulder, her grip tightening on the slow-burning incense stick: “Men, this is more than a simple stroll! Stay sharp or you'll answer to _me_.”

There were the sounds of gulping throats.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 1: Head-canon: the penta-pox crowd was just the main body of the Omashu resistance. Never mind my very high estimate of its population, getting all or even a lot of the city's people (except the FN occupiers) out the main gate and its rather narrow causeway is unreasonable, especially since they're doing it with a ruse and so time is a factor.
> 
> As a general note, please don't go and think I'm hating on Azula. The hate is all Michi's: she's been away from the Fire Nation's Court for months now as well as deciding to focus her efforts with the Fuhe-Sida Kingdom. She just doesn't have the habit of working and living around Azula anymore, which leads to her cracking and even openly mentioning Azula's little Wilhelm Tell episode - with Mai in the room.
> 
> Michi will have raised a huge scandal with Ozai and Ursa over that episode in this continuity: she would've definitely learned about it quickly. Still, the fact that Ozai is still alive and Firelord is an easy spoiler that Azulon kept the peace by ordering Michi to stop with the threatening noises and giving Azula's parents an epic snide-old-man bollocking in her presence.


	13. The Masks Come Down

Michi's rendezvous point turned out to be the city's summit, at the foot of the giant Ozai statue that was still under construction. A boardwalk had been built onto the summit's free half, level with the statue's pedestal that occupied the other; it had many holes in it with stairs leading down. The ember on Azula's incense stick was consuming the last of the flammable material, meaning that noon was upon them. She threw it down and ground it with her foot.

Three unknown figures waited for them on the far end of the boardwalk.

“Alright,” said Michi. She put the tip of her sword right against the base of Bumi's throat, facing the statue so as not to allow Azula a proper view of the symbol on her chest; Niyok held hers against his right kidney and they moved toward the figures at the slowed pace of Michi's sideways gait. Azula and the others followed them. If the three figures had any misgivings over being outnumbered five to one, they made no visible sign.

As Michi closed the distance she could see that the tallest of the three was holding a moving baby in its hands. She swallowed hard and must've misstepped slightly, because Bumi said “Ouch! Careful with that thing.” When they were closer, he outright chuckled and carelessly waved his hand: “Hello, everybody!”

“Stop,” said Michi, then turned to the three: “Do you have my son?”

“He's here,” answered a boy's voice. “We're ready to trade!”

“Alright, here's how we do this: you three” - she turned to Azula - “and you thirteen will stay where you are!” Then back to the resistance's agents: “My friend and I will march the king there as we've done till now – but we'll come by ourselves. When we get there, I will sheathe my sword, you deliver Tom-Tom into my arms and after I've confirmed his identity I and my friend will retire and the four of you may go where you please! Nobody should do anything out of sequence if you value your lives! Is everything understood?”

“Yeah,” said the same boy impatiently; “let's do this!”

“Happily,” said Michi and she, Niyok and Bumi resumed their slow advance.

Almost at once, Azula spoke: “Excuse me, but a thought just occurred to me! Lady Xiang, do you mind stopping for just a moment?”

Michi's only answer was the next step, but Bumi stopped abruptly; her sword came off his throat briefly. She returned it there, not gently, hissing: “What are you doing?”

“Move your fucking self,” growled Niyok.

“Now, now,” said Bumi as to a naughty child, “we heard _you;_ let's hear the princess too.”

Niyok and Michi stood still, both thoroughly wrong-footed.

Azula closed in, with Ty Lee quickly following her: “We're trading a two-year-old for a king!” She looked up at Bumi, who towered even over Niyok when he stood up straight: “A powerful _earthbending_ king?”

“Uh-huh,” he said, nodding.

The princess turned to Michi: “It just doesn't seem like a fair trade, does it?”

“Your concern is noted, Princess,” said the assassin, in an angry tone that conveyed clearly what she thought of Azula's concern. Then she snarled at Bumi, in the same voice most people would use to cuss out an annoying idiot: “Carry on, _Your Grace!_ ”

Between that and the sword prodding him from the back, Bumi kept going.

After a few moments of inner debate, Mai loosed a much-put-upon sigh and stepped up: “Mom, what are you doing? You heard Azula; the deal's off!”

“That's not her decision,” snapped Michi, then wheeled viciously on Azula: “That's not your decision! I had to take this man into my custody to save his life from a stupidly brutal confinement that's straight out of your mind or your father's, so now I will use that life to get my son back!”

Bumi cocked an eyebrow: “Wait, you think that metal box could kill _me?”_

Azula regarded her with a sort of eerie, curious calm: “Did you hit your head when you were up north? 'Cause I get the feeling you don't know who I am anymore.”

Michi turned her whole body to face her, abandoning any pretence of holding the sword at the king's neck: “Oh, I know who you are – and what: a useless spoiled brat who's drunk on power after graduating from childish bullying and pelting turtle-ducks with bread, to torturing and killing people who can't fight back.”

As she said this, Niyok stopped prodding Bumi with the sword and began to shove him toward the Resistance members, drawing a “Hey!”; she kept looking back at Michi, who was now pretty much alone against the three girls and ten soldiers.

Ty Lee gasped and covered it with her hands; Mai groaned in frustration.

“But if you think you're more than that, by all means prove it,” the assassin went on. “Since you're out of school and out here on missions I assume you're an adult under the law. Agni Kai!”

For a few moments the princess clenched her fists and scowled, unable to fully contain her anger, then she relaxed a little: “Oh, think you can insult me and get away with it that easily? Mai, I'm afraid we'll have to arrest your mother for treason.”

“Coward,” said Michi quickly.

 

Meanwhile, Niyok had wrestled Bumi up to the three Resistance members. After a brief moment of surprise at seeing two Water Tribe youngsters and a gray-eyed kid, she said: “Here's your king.”

Katara looked past her: “Wait, what about-”

“I'll take care of them!”

“Hey, you're that waterbender from before!”

“Right back at ya. Anyway, an airbender will come for the baby. Give him to her.”

She got a very loud, threefold “what” for that.

Niyok turned around: “You two are Water Tribe. I'm counting on you. If we don't get the kid back...” She made a cutting gesture over her own gut, then pulled out water from under her armour and turned it into an ice board upon which she skidded quickly back to Michi and the others, stopping with a shriek of abused wood next to her friend just as she was saying “Coward”. The water shot up from under her feet to form a whirring circular saw blade: “Trouble?”

Michi nodded.

“So, Mai, this is that waterbender?” asked Azula. “And those symbols-”

“Watch out,” Mai shouted and pulled Azula to her by the sleeve. Just in time, too: Michi had unleashed a sudden torrent of fire that inundated the spot where Azula had been and even at its extreme range set two of the Imperial Firebenders ablaze. They panicked and began to scream, as their comrades struggled to contain the fires.

“Never mind them,” shouted Azula; “kill the traitors! There's just two of them!”

Mai hesitated for a long, nervous moment when she heard that; her hands slackened, releasing Azula, who started a deadly dance on the spot that sent a flurry of fire at the two older women. Michi blocked some of them with her own fire and danced neatly back from the others; Niyok simply endured the blue fire as it pelted her and sent the saw blade at Ty Lee. The girl skidded forward on her shins so that it barely clipped the tip of her nose before it went on in a whirring arc, parting the leftmost Imperial Firebender at the waist before it stopped abruptly, halfway into the second.

Ty Lee, now almost in Niyok's face, didn't see what the disk did; she righted herself and charged the waterbender with a confident smirk despite the huge size difference. A massive leg, over half her size by itself, shot up with blinding speed and she barely managed to block the foot with both hands; it sent her up a bit off the planks and back a good three yards.

In that moment Mai exploded into action. Niyok's helmet didn't have the skull mask surrounded by spiky flames that firebenders in heavy armour like hers wore, but there was still a small gap under her face-mask when she stood up straight and that's where Mai sent her knife.

Niyok crouched down at the same time, turning the stuck saw blade into a multitude of water tentacles with ice spear points, one of them aiming at Ty Lee's back. She caught the knife in the upper middle of her faceplate. The blade sunk in an inch, rendering a spider-web of cracks into the priceless one-way glass.

Niyok gasped and arched back, grabbing the visor with both hands.

Mai shouldered the icicle out of the way just as it was about to stab her friend; Niyok tossed the helmet away, revealing a pixie-cut of dark hair and a wide, youthful, coppery face, its middle filled with blood from a deep gash in the forehead.

The water tentacle wrapped itself around Mai's chest and arms, pinning and crushing them.

Azula had been duelling Michi more or less by herself for the past few seconds as the remaining firebenders sorted themselves out and began jumping to her aid; it was just in time, the assassin had set a rhythm and was pelting the princess with massive fire-blasts and whips, each a deadly shot that the girl blocked or dodged by narrow margins.

As soon as the men took over, all six who were left, it was Michi's turn on the back foot and Azula charged lightning. Then she saw Mai being crushed and Ty Lee being chased by Niyok's water and shifted the lightning to her.

It was a solid hit, centre mass; Niyok's bending failed, the water falling into puddles, as she groaned and collapsed on all fours. She righted herself almost at once, but the two girls had overtaken her.

 

“Listen, Aang, it's nice to see you again but I really can't leave Omashu right now,” Bumi said as soon as Niyok left him with the kids.

The Avatar stood aghast: “But why? The resistance-”

“Aang, I think those women are in trouble,” said Sokka.

Katara nodded: “They got Bumi to us, we should help them.”

“Sure,” said Aang, getting more than a little vexed; “I just have to figure out if Bumi's even _with_ us!”

The old king creaked his neck and his knuckles, the noises coming out of him like thick wood being broken. “You came here on Appa, right? Well, if it's come to this I'll help you guys get out of – oh look, they're really going at it.”

Sokka scratched his head with his free arm: “Alright, um, go benders, I guess? I'll call Appa and get us out of here.”

Bumi took up an earthbending stance and pumped his arms up, summoning two large chunks of granite that tore holes through the boardwalk like paper, mashed them into amorphous globs of small chunks and used them to shove Katara and Aang back gently but firmly: “Me first!”

In tune with his kata, the rock chunks formed into a large shield that he ran forward with.

 

Meanwhile, Michi had been retreating under the onslaught of the six men, but in a controlled fashion; when she saw that Niyok was alright, she abruptly twisted on the spot, summoning a wall of fire around herself that looked like a fat seed. The men stopped to stare at it.

“Watch out, you idiots!” Azula shrieked. “She's gonna – AH!”

The seed burst open in a blinding flash of flame that enveloped all six of the men and the princess, but behind it was a chest-sized, killing fire-blast that almost nailed Azula; she jumped up at the last moment, tripped on the force carrying the fire and fell on her face.

At the same time Niyok charged the men, picking up the closest one. He was a big man, almost as tall as her and sturdy, but the waterbender, built like a bear, lifted him up a good three feet and smacked him into the next two, making all of them collapse, retrieved her sword and broke it on the fourth man's helmet with a vicious chop, backhanded the fifth and body-slammed the last one, picked him up and tossed him off the edge of the boardwalk to a screaming death.

 

At that moment Insun appeared overhead. “Where's Tom-Tom?” she shouted.

It distracted Michi, who was standing above Azula, about to deliver the killing stab with her sword as she tried to stand up. The princess shot up and grabbed the sword by crossguard and pommel, writhing like an eel as she tried to wrest it from Michi's hand.

“Where's Tom-Tom?” Insun asked again, then: “There's lots of soldiers coming! A hundred at least!”

Michi added her own left hand to the struggle for the sword and twisted out of the way of Azula's knee. She saw Niyok goring a prone firebender's groin with a hilt shard; a throng of Fire Nation soldiers were emerging onto the boardwalk from the same side Michi had used; among them, more Imperial Firebenders were sprinkled. The assassin used her adult's strength to rock Azula to and fro, preventing the girl from doing her any mischief as she concentrated on Insun: “Never mind Tom-Tom right now! _Get Niyok out of there!_ ”

“Right!”

Just as Insun's answer registered Michi felt a thump in her chest and looked down instinctively. One of Mai's knives was sticking out of it. For a moment she forgot everything and stared at her daughter, aghast.

A powerful gust of air put Mai on her back. The resistance boy ran past in a blur of orange.

The moment she had sure footing, Azula snatched the sword out of Michi's hands and sliced at her throat. It never connected. An avalanche of rocks, composed of Bumi's shield, wrapped around her and Mai, making them drop their blades pinning them into massive fetter variants briefly, until Ty Lee came up from the king's side and landed a series of quick jabs on his body.

The king gasped in surprise as his earthbending and limbs failed him and he collapsed softly on knees, then back. Michi, having gotten over her shock, charged lightning and shot it at at Azula, but the princess dodged as the king's rocks dropped listlessly around her; Ty Lee jumped in at the same time and Michi retracted her right hand and quickly shoved them forward again with a fire-blast each for Ty Lee and Azula. The princess responded with a deftly applied fire-whip that blocked both of the blasts.

Mai stood up, shook the dizziness out of her head and raised another knife at her mother, but an even stronger gust of air sent her into the boardwalk again, this time on her side, drawing a gasp.

Ty Lee landed neatly in front of Michi, grabbing the extended forearm near the wrist and elbow.

The feeling was peculiar: like a minor version of lightning shock, too weak to hurt, but longer. The girl followed up with a couple of quick jabs at the armpit; Michi only blocked the second and her whole right arm flapped down, nerveless and useless.

Azula shouted: “Pull the knife out!”

This confused Ty Lee for a moment and Michi pulled back from her; as the two girls charged again, shoulder to shoulder, she almost stepped over the boardwalk's edge; she had to turn around and shoot a powerful wave of fire to push herself back from the brink.

Azula and Ty Lee were upon her immediately, but just as quickly a controlled splash of water shoved them both away and put them on their backs.

Michi turned to its source: “Niyok? When did you-”

But the waterbender she saw was a lithe girl wearing traditional Water Tribe hairstyle and robes; she was lithe, perhaps a little more substantial than Michi herself and at least ten years younger than Niyok.

“Name's Katara,” she said. “We need to get out of here, come on!”

 

Insun swooped down to Niyok: “Jump on me!” By way of answer, Niyok gave each of the three remaining firebenders a vicious kick to the head, denting and smacking off their helmets; she waved the little airbender down, a signal to land.

Three Mai knives flew past in quick succession, drawing the two women's attention from the incoming small army and to Mai, who was still on her arse but had turned onto the boy who had put her there with more projectiles; while withdrawing past them, he used strong airbending gusts to deflect them. His eyes bugged out when he saw Insun fold her glider staff and barely caught Mai's fourth knife with his own but he said nothing.

Insun tugged at Niyok's sleeve: “Come on, we have to get out of there!”

Niyok's answer was to point at the king, who was trying to right himself on very wobbly arms and legs.

“Don't worry, I'll get him,” said the boy and rushed to do so.

Niyok shrugged and pointed at the nearest edge of the boardwalk. Insun understood at once; she wasn't strong enough to take off on flat ground with such a heavy load. She ran to the ledge, spread the glider; Niyok grabbed it and together they jumped off.

A few seconds later Insun shot upward, red in the face and struggling noisily, with the giant hanging on to the spine of her glider with hands only.

The boy glanced their way to make sure of what he was seeing and focused on help Bumi up: “Can you hold on to me?”

“I think so... we need to talk, Aang!”

Azula was near enough to hear clearly. She turned around: “The avatar? My lucky day!” She immediately broke off from the beginnings of a losing bending battle with Michi and the resistance's waterbender, shoved Ty Lee back as well and pointed her to one of the ladder holes, helped Mai stand and pointed her at Michi and Katara: “You and Ty Lee take care of those two; I've got _bigger_ fish to fry!”


	14. A Family Halved

Michi calmly watched the princess disappear into the scaffolding, in pursuit of the Avatar, then turned to her daughter, who was suddenly, apparently alone. She took up a firebending stance: “Well, so much for your... friends, Mai. Care to explain yourself?”

“Right back at you,” said Mai, unveiling a whole stack of shuriken in her left hand.

Her mother's scowl deepened: “Are you _sure_ you want to choose them over me?”

Mai hesitated briefly before picking up the topmost shuriken daintily with her right hand fingers: “Kinda, yeah.” The shuriken flew; a powerful fire-blast stopped and engulfed it; as Mai dodged it she grabbed and threw the other shuriken, with flawless surety and speed.

Michi barely had enough time to realize she was about to die, but a few snakes of water seized and pulled her out of the way. Mai pulled more projectiles out of her black robe, the inside of which was all straps and eyelets where she could and did stow pounds of little blades. Her mother broke free of the water with almost casual ease and turned a scowl on Katara, its source.

“Never mind her,” snapped the girl. “We have to get out of here! This way!”

She turned to run; Michi said a long, sceptical “Right,” but followed suit.

Katara spotted her brother, who had taken shelter behind the higher scaffolding and was doing something she couldn't see. She had an absurd moment of pride and the warm-and-fuzzies for him: for all his bluster about being a warrior who doesn't run from danger, he'd put the baby's safety first without hesitation. _The baby! Where's Appa?_ “We've got to get the baby out of here!”

Sokka turned around to reveal that he was blowing hard into the bison whistle. He removed it: “Way ahead of you, sis!” As soon as the whistle, a white wooden object shaped vaguely like a sky bison, was within reach, Tom-Tom snatched it and blew into it with gusto.

“Alright, what's the extraction plan?” demanded Michi, running past a hole in the boardwalk. “Both my airbender and yours are busy and I don't see – WHOA!”

A hand had snatched her ankle at the exact wrong moment and pulled. The assassin fell on her hands, but the one Ty Lee had grabbed before gave way. Growling, she righted herself, after spinning her legs in a wide arc; the circus girl, who had emerged out at the same time, had to duck her head and launched another series of quick jabs, but Michi bobbed and weaved out of their way, sneaked a calf behind Ty Lee's own and planted an uppercut to the girl's very slim gut and a head-butt to the eye in quick succession. The girl squealed briefly, cringed and fell back, though she managed to seize and hold on to the stair.

Mai was running after them. “Ty Lee,” she growled through gritted teeth, and threw knives at a run; Katara's water slammed into the boardwalk; one of the boards shot up just in time to catch the first, then Katara seized it and jumped to Michi, catching the next three. Then Mai caught up and kicked her in the chest through the board, right between two of her own knives, breaking it and sending Katara several staggers back before she fell on her arse.

Michi punched at her daughter's face, but only after a rather long hesitation that allowed Mai to seize her wrist in both hands and attempt to subdue her by twisting it. Mai was quite big and strong especially for her age, but Michi was so much so her one arm could wrestle out of Mai's two. As soon as she pulled away, however, one of Mai's hands darted forward and plucked out the knife from her mother's chest. It was followed by a spray of blood, but Mai dodged it.

Michi gasped and thrust a finger into the wound to block the blood, but that left her without any combat-worthy arms. Balls of fire exploded under her feet, sending her into a very high and long jump: “Seriously, extraction would just about hit the spot right now!”

“On it!” shouted Sokka in reply; he was climbing down the very edge of the boardwalk.

Mai stooped to give Ty Lee's swelling eye a quick look and offer a helping hand: “You're fine. Come on, they're getting away.”

“I'll get them from below,” whispered the girl and vanished into the shadows beneath the boardwalk. By the time Mai tried to throw another knife, Katara's bent water was coming upon her and trapped her arm almost to the shoulder in quick-forming ice that resisted Mai's chop with the other hand. Michi stood alongside the waterbender, a few flicks of multi-coloured flame bursting out around the finger she'd stuck in her own wound.

When she pulled it out no blood followed it. As soon as Katara had put Mai in the icy impasse, she ordered, “Break her arm.”

The girl turned a very indignant face: “What? I'm not gonna break anybody's arm! Isn't she your daughter?”

“That's my problem,” snapped Michi. “Yours seems to be obeying your elders!”

“I don't care how old you are, I'm not breaking another person's arm just 'cause you want me to – you just watch out for the circus freak!”

“I really wouldn't try to order – JIN TY LEE, get back or I will break you in half!” This last came out with a fire-kick that sent out an arcing sickle at Ty Lee, who had emerged from under the lip of the boardwalk and charged Katara from behind.

“As if,” she snapped at Michi, dodged the fire, put Katara between the firebender and herself then formed her fingers into crane beaks and jabbed once into each of Katara's shoulders and arms, drawing pained gasps – evidently she was angry and thereby struck harder. The water and ice that held Mai lost its power and shape, flopping pathetically onto the boards.

Michi performed a twisty leg kata, launching a powerful, curbed jet of flame, its area of harmful convection wrapping closely around Katara's back, but Ty Lee darted past the waterbender the other way and crane-jabbed Michi's arm too, shutting down the flame. A kick flew at her at once but she somersaulted back and stood next to Mai, who was rummaging for something in her robe.

Katara tried to summon up the water again with an expansive movement but it barely stirred. Mai finally snatched out a particularly large pair of shuriken: “So, how are you gonna fight without your bending?”

A boomerang whistled through the air, knocking the blades neatly out of her hands. It flew up to its owner, who was Sokka. “I seem to manage,” he said.

Michi, Ty Lee and Mai all gasped. He was high in the air above the boardwalk, mounted on the back of a beast's neck, as it was swooping through the air. The creature, a six-legged bison covered in shaggy, white wool with purple arrows, had no apparent means to keep itself aloft, but with occasional wide swishes of its long, flat tail and occasional swimming motions with its feet, it cut an elegant, even graceful path through the air. Its truly massive proportions, bigger than a woolly mammoth, seemed to do little to hamper its flying – or even the neat landing it managed between the two pairs of combatants, facing Michi and Katara.

“Come on,” said the waterbender. “This is Appa; he'll fly us out of here!”

Michi backed a pace, pulling her arms up in a guard – with some apparent difficulty; they were still numb from Ty Lee's technique. The terror in her was easy to see beneath the veneer of defiance. “You're joking, of course; what _is_ that thing?”

“Sky bison,” snapped Sokka, still straddling Appa's nape. “You wanna come get your kid or stay with what looks from here like the whole Fire Nation?”

“Unfortunately, there's a lot more to the Fire Nation than-” Appa had pulled up his tail slowly; now he brought it down with a thunderclap of air which sent Ty Lee and Mai flying and screaming back. Michi's eyes were threatening to fall out of their sockets. She pointed at Appa's face, an unfamiliar note of shrill hysteria in her voice: “Did the monster just _airbend?_ ”

Appa picked this very unfortunate moment to bellow, demanding urgency. Soldiers were beginning to swarm over the far edge of the boardwalk.

Michi backed away three quick paces from the bison: “I think I'll take my chances with the soldiers and wait for Insun to come back...” Out of options, Katara groaned in frustration, took Michi by the hand and half-pulled, half-dragged her over to Appa's side. “Alright,” snapped the assassin: “I'll get up on this Appa thing, just – let go of me!” She pulled her hand out of Katara's and approached the sky bison doubtfully and slowly, being the last aboard.

With all aboard, Appa jumped up and rapidly climbed without needing any directions. As soon as she stabilized enough to crawl on hands and knees, Michi immediately moved to the front of the saddle, tugged Sokka's collar and demanded her son with nothing but an imperious gesture. Once Tom-Tom was in her arms, she held him tightly to her face and began to kiss his and coo over him. He felt very heavy in her weak arms.

“There's Aang!” Katara shouted, pointing at the top of the scaffold-bedecked statue.

“On our way,” said Sokka and led Appa even farther up.

“Azula is also there,” said Michi dryly.

Katara leaned a little over the side of Appa's saddle, drawing a cringe from Michi: “So... why isn't he on his guard? Where's Bumi?”

There was some commotion lower down the statue, a flicker of bright blue from among the scaffolds that outshone the daylight, followed by a billowing dust cloud. The Avatar did a neat airbending leap to land lightly on the rear of Appa's saddle, opposite Michi. He looked rather dejected; the assassin directed an inquiring frown at him. For a moment, she wanted to ask the god-child why he hadn't flattened Azula, Mai and Ty Lee along with their little soldiers, but it would not do to give him ideas like that free of charge when one of the potential victims was her own daughter. Tom-Tom grabbed at her lip and she resumed cooing at him, still keeping an eye on the Avatar, who managed a small smile for some reason, then greeted his friends – giving Katara an affectionate hug, that she returned. Well, maybe he was more than affectionate.

_Oh._

 

Katara listened with some dismay but little surprise as Aang explained Bumi's absence. It was just like the old king to send him off, staying in the city to wait for the “right time” to free Ba Sing Se and urging Aang to find an Earthbending master who “watches and listens,” as per the 3 rd (neutral) Jing that Bumi claimed was the reason he'd surrendered to the Fire Nation to begin with and the key to earthbending – and to wasting Azula's time.

Michi didn't want to draw attention to herself; the comment came out automatically: “But isn't false surrender the 27th Jing?”

Katara only allowed herself a quick glare at the assassin; Sokka also limited himself to scowling briefly over his shoulder. The assassin did not miss either.

The Avatar shrugged: “Maybe that's why Bumi wants someone else to teach me. I don't know that much about Jing.”

“I see,” said Michi, projecting absent-mindedness as she stooped back at her son.

“So, what now?” asked Sokka. “We ask Yung about good earthbending teachers?”

“Sure,” said Aang. Then, more downbeat, “I just hope Bumi will be alright.”

“The man's 112 and went head to head with you,” said Sokka with a sort of easy-going drawl. “I wouldn't worry about him so much.”

“Yes you would,” said Aang quickly, though good-naturedly.

“Yeah, I would.”

Katara rubbed Aang's shoulder. Michi scratched her temple, then her son scratched there as well, clumsily, but no-one was in the mood to chuckle at his antics. They flew in silence after that.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Apologies for the long delay; I spent most of the time in an uncreative fugue.
> 
> I do hope this story has retained some interest, now that Michi has finally come face to faces with Team Avatar. With the two would-be saviours rubbing shoulders and/or Having Words, a mess of epic proportions must ensue, no?


	15. Face to Face

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> 05/04/15 Edit: I just learned that the canon names of Mai's parents are Ukano and Michi. I've changed the entire fic to reflect this; there have been some other minor edits but nothing to significantly change the story.

Insun landed badly amid the jagged rocks of Zai's hideout, almost on top of the man himself, and collapsed in wheezing exhaustion. Niyok planted her feet firmly in the ground on either side of her, folded the glider and put it away, picked Insun up as easily and gently as if she were a much-loved but wounded cat and set her down on a formation of huge, smoothed rocks that looked like an easy chair, removed the black shoes and bright white socks and lowered her dainty feet into the rapid, foamy water, then pulled some more to cool down her forearms and sprinkle in her face.

The airbender tried to “Have... to save... Michi...”

“Catch your breath first,” said Niyok.

“Ma'am, what happened to your helmet?” asked Zai doubtfully. Niyok turned to him: “Oh, and your face! Qamaniq, could you come out here for a moment?”

A bony Northerner woman of middling years popped up out of little more than thin air from among the crags and shrubs as Niyok washed the blood off her face.

“Ah,” said Qamaniq, fascinated, “the face of the princess is revealed!” Zai smiled with her, a private smile with a quick clasp of the hands. “A beautiful face too, not at all the scary grotesque everyone's betting on; no wonder you hid it in battle, but why-”

Niyok cut her short with a fierce scowl, punctuated by the glob of fresh blood slowly flowing down from the wound in the middle of her forehead, and a pointed index finger: “Do _not_ call me that.”

Qamaniq's smile froze. Zai enveloped her shoulders in a one-armed embrace that conveniently hid most of her sparse form from Niyok's direct view: “The, ahem, _King's Champion_ detests her father almost as much as I love you, for reasons _you_ should understand only too well.”

“I see... and I take that back, um, Lady Lan; you are altogether _terrifying_.” Niyok calmed down at once and even smiled, then the blood got into her eye and she splashed it away with copious water drawn by a vexed swish of her hand. “Here, let me,” Qamaniq went on, trapped a small dollop of the water and pressed it softly on the wound, where it glowed and healed.

As Qamaniq finished repairing Niyok's forehead, Insun stood up in the water, holding her loose trousers mostly out of the water one-handed. She crooked her other wrist in a summoning gesture: a gust of air set the glider staff neatly in the waiting hand.

“Hey,” snapped Niyok, almost turning her head, but Qamaniq seized her by the chin just in time; Insun flew straight upward. Niyok's eyes and vexed sigh followed her: “She's reckless.” Then to Qamaniq, with a massive, mostly friendly hand on her shoulder that completely hid it: “And you're _brave._ Thanks for calling my face beautiful. We should hide.”

 

Insun had discovered most airbending she knew on her own, including that she could climb rapidly and vertically by corkscrewing, avoiding dizziness by long practice. Then she saw a large whitish blotch and headed for it at an oblique, climbing angle, all the while reflecting that she was being too curious for her own good again; yet it was in the correct direction for returning to Omashu to get her lady safely out, so...

Then terror froze her. The object resolved into a huge, shaggy monster that whizzed through the air at great haste, past and below Insun with her throttled shriek. It had people on its back. One of them was Michi, who looked up and waved, then said something to the others. After a while the monster slowed down enough that Insun easily caught up to it.

Michi beckoned with free hand and said, in a throttled voice that mirrored Insun's own exhaustion: “Come on, I don't think they want to attack us.” Tom-Tom was sleeping contentedly in a nest made of her lap and other arm.

Insun landed on Appa's moving back neatly enough, but seeing how shaken and exhausted she was, Michi immediately pulled her into a tight, protective one-armed hug.

Aang was ogling the new arrival, his eyes wide almost to an unnatural degree. Finally he shouted excitedly: “ _WOW,_ I can't believe-”

Michi shushed him down reflexively, then realized who she did it to and shared a terrified look with Insun; Tom-Tom stirred and moaned in his sleep.

But the Avatar went on just above a whisper: “I can't believe you're a real airbender! Are there more of us left?”

Katara gave him and then Insun worried looks, but the little woman, hardly taller and certainly lighter than herself had clearly demonstrated airbending. Nobody else could take to the air with such small gliders that could be folded into staves.

Insun herself cringed, instinctively trying to hide under Michi's protective side, though even with the loose robe it was nowhere near as spacious as Niyok's. “Um, a few, yes,” she said, barely audible, then to Michi: “Are you sure we should be this close to _him?_ ”

“Not really, but he and his friends _did_ save my life just now.”

“What's wrong with me?” asked the Avatar, bewildered.

“You terrify her, of course,” said Michi in her stating the obvious tone. “For that matter, you terrify _me._ The feeling is... unpleasant, to say the least.” When Aang answered her pause with more uncomprehending rapid blinking, she continued: “You may remember us from the assault on the Northern Water Tribe's city. I've never seen anyone single-handedly kill more than 20,000 people in a matter of minutes.” She swallowed dry before finishing in the same level voice: “Pardon me if I do not show the proper outward signs of abject terror – I've had _training._ ”

Katara's face went red; she yelled: “How dare-” then she checked herself and hissed: “How dare you accuse Aang like that? All he did was fight off the Fire Nation's-”

“ _Stop,”_ said Michi with enough imperium to shut up even Katara, then toned down her own voice: “If we're going to start a silly argument over my son's sleeping ears, at least get your facts straight. I did not _accuse_ the Avatar of anything. His actions in the North, however horrific, were altogether legal.”

“Unlike yours,” Sokka muttered over his shoulder.

“Yes, unlike _yours,_ ” said Katara, putting in enough vehemence for both Sokka and herself.

Michi's mouth twisted in a cruel jeer but before she could say anything, Insun popped out of hiding, waving her arms in conciliatory gestures while walking comically and shakily to the middle of Appa's saddle: “Alright, alright, let's all settle down, please! We can – ah! – We can all do without a battle on such an unstable – whoa! –  _very_ unstable platform.” Forced to sit down again, she turned to Katara: “But if you must battle the Lady Xiang with  _words..._ a bit of friendly advice: don't do it in  _legalese._ It'll give you a terrible headache and get nowhere f – o _h Gods!_ ”

A powerful gust of wind hit Appa enough to jostle him a bit and Insun collapsed forward onto Aang. He caught and steadied her against the ledge of the saddle he was leaning against. “Whoa, that was a strong one! Appa's usually steady but you don't want to be in the very middle of the saddle.” Then he noticed she was showing Michi's 'proper signs of outward terror' again and released her to properly cringe away from him: “Look, I know La and I did a terrible thing in the North... I'm trying to find out how to control the Avatar State or stay out of it so that doesn't happen again. Spirits know I don't want people _afraid_ of me!” He drooped his head between his knees, holding them close by clasping his hands together.

Katara turned on her haunches toward him, grabbing and rubbing his hands; she got a grateful but small and weak smile. Insun patted his shoulder with extreme caution; she got the same.

Michi's eyebrow rose: “A little late, don't you think? I mean you did surpass even _my_ infamy at a stroke with your-”

“Not helping him,” said Insun pointedly. Katara and the bison's driver were scowling at Michi again, and even Insun and the Avatar were giving her looks.

“Yeah, look, I owe you my life so if you could land this thing-”

“His name is _Appa,”_ said Katara snippily.

“If you could land this Appa thing I can be out of your hair directly; it doesn't seem like you'd ever want any other favours from me, nor do I care for the company of people who find me disgusting.” At “disgusting,” Tom-Tom woke up and began to cry. Michi began to coo and make kissing noises, then scowled at Sokka over the baby's head: “He needs changing. Land. _Now!_ ”

Sokka took a deep, long-suffering breath ending with “Yeah okay” and landed Appa near the river with the Resistance's camp, which was still several Li away.

Several tens of small animals ran away through the grass. Insun took up her glider-staff as soon as the bison's feet touched the grassy, shrub-infested shore: “Milady, I'll need to guide our people here...” She raised an eyebrow: “will you be alright?”

_You're not going to start a fight or anything, are you?_

“Yes,” said Michi, smiling frailly, “I'll be alright – Insun, do I see your _feet?_ ”

“Oh – sorry – I – I was tired...”

“You _are_ tired.”

“Niyok put my feet in the water to cool down, Milady.”

Michi's smile came alive: “Alright, get the crew, please.” She resumed trying to calm down her disconsolate son, while following Katara's example in how to dismount Appa by sliding down his side; she didn't come down hard enough for the exaggerate crouch and had to force it. The girl had done it for Tom-Tom's benefit.

Sokka dismounted last, his crouch made genuine by the weight of three large leather bags. Katara immediately sat on her haunches and opened one of them, pulled a soft-looking bundle of white cloth squares out of it and handed it wordlessly to Michi.

“...There, there, sweetie, you'll be clean again soon, the – what's this for?”

“To change the baby into! They're locally woven linen, pretty good even for a baby.”

“That's why the girly airbender left, right? To get your baby stuff?” asked Sokka.

“Among other things, yes; we don't carry any _diapers_ on our persons.”

“So use these. That's what I did; he has one on right now.”

“I suppose they will serve, then... though why would you expect _me_ to know anything about changing a baby?” asked Michi, making no move toward the cloth and for the first time looking distinctly down her nose at Katara; “I have people to do that for me. They're on their way.”

Katara stuck up her nose right back at her: “You're not much good to your son alive, Michi!”

“Excuse you?”

“You heard me! It's not enough that you lose sight of him for long enough that he can find his way out of a huge city or that you taint him for life as the son of a notorious assassin, you can't even take _care_ of him? And I'm pretty sure breastfeeding should last at _least_ twice as long!”

Amid the rumbling thunder of her rage, Michi noticed that it was not just hers. Katara wasn't baiting her like Azula; the outrage was genuine: disgusted indeed. The 'done and done' call to strike her down with lightning at once was rescinded. There was also the matter of the baby crying.

“Did I stumble upon a nerve?” she whispered, only half-realizing she was vocalizing it.

“Yeah,” said Aang and Sokka together. Tom-Tom's crying attained new heights of shrillness.

“Alright, uh, Katara... why don't you talk me through this and we all keep this to ourselves because I don't want my people eating my _liver_ because I'm taking their jobs, their bread? Is that acceptable with you?”

“It doesn't have to be acceptable to me, just the baby,” said Katara sullenly and stuck out the cloth squares again. “Alright, this really isn't that hard...”

The assassin's hands were long and fine, dexterous and almostgraceful even in the unfamiliar, dirty tasks; before long Tom-Tom was clean, his cries reduced to indistinct, dissatisfied mewls and the soiled diaper was buried a good fifty yards away from the river.

When Michi returned the short-hafted spade to Sokka, she asked him for his name and he gave it laconically. The assassin nodded and took a few more steps then she turned on her heels:

“Wait, Sokka as in Sokka, son of Hakoda, the most active village chief of the Southern Water Tribe? As in, from the South?”

Sokka's face was a study in deadpan indifference: “Yeah, I really don't get why everyone just assumes that 'cause we're called the _Southern_ Water Tribe.”

Michi passed over the sarcasm without a blink: “So, you guys kept Katara's existence quiet because _she_ was your new waterbender and Yon Rha went and killed the wrong mark on the basis that the waterbender was, and I quote, 'a young female in the chief's household'! Small wonder your sister's a little salty, then.”

Sokka scratched his temple, showing more signs of suppressed anger: “'A little salty'? Tell me, do you understate things 'cause you think it's funny? I mean, it works with a lot of things but not with people's mothers being murdered... just saying.”

“I don't find murder amusing, merely mundane.” Something made her look left. Katara and Aang were gawping up at her. She regarded them in silence for a second, then shrugged: “What? Do I have something on my face?”

Tom-tom pulled at her lip.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry again for the long delays. I'm taking up coffee seriously for the first time in an attempt to breathe some life into myself.
> 
> Anyway, this is just the beginning; trying to write the clash of cultures and visions is a very useful exercise for me and I hope I'll get a lot better than this.


	16. It's like arguing with a lawyer

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Not much fighting here, except with words. This is not indicative of the rest of the story. Anyway, in case anyone missed the other note, I've changed the names of Mai's parents to reflect the upcoming comic, Smoke and Shadow, though this version of Michi is perhaps less likely to become a florist...

“ _You know the man who killed my mother?_ ”

The girl had probably intended to shout the question, but it came out flat, steely. There was something of the killer in that voice; Michi caught herself starting to like this Katara girl. Perhaps Niyok should take her under her wing... “I have that misfortune, yes,” she said. “He's nothing much, really; just a thug and leader of thugs. Go to any crowded market, you'll rub shoulders with ten of him and a hundred of his betters. The only things he's any good at are bullying and navigation; don't let him add agriculture, he _will_ try given half the chance... He retired a good three and a half years ago, went back to live with his mother, in my family's old domain on Ie Island. She must've been the worst vassal Father had that never broke any laws – Fire Nation laws, at least.”

“Could you take me there?”

Aang spoke up as Michi was opening her mouth: “Wait, Katara, I know what you're feeling right now but revenge won't help you, it will just create more pain. If you want to start getting that weight of sorrow and anger off your chest, forgiveness-”

The assassin cut him off before Katara or Sokka could: “Avatar, how about we let Katara decide whether pursuing her vendetta or abandoning it is good for her, ah, chest instead of moralizing like a pair of ossified Fire Sages?”

“But-”

“No buts. Now, the question you two really want to ask yourselves is this: With Ie Island so far out of the way, is the trip even worth it? It's not like Yon Rha is even doing anything right now, except growing a few vegetables and waiting to die in his bed.”

Katara's stare turned to the ground; she simmered in silence for a short while.

“Well, there's still Arnook,” said Sokka darkly, “and _you're_ right here.”

Michi gave a strained laugh and instinctively tightened her grip on Tom-Tom, tucking his head under her chin: “Ah, I see we still have to get that out of your system.”

“Out of _my_ system?” snapped Sokka, checking his scream in the nick of time to avoid startling the baby. “You're the one who murders innocent people in cold blood!”

“Yes, and these four were bad kills I will regret for the rest of my days without needing callow youths to refresh my memory,” said Michi coldly. Then, more to herself: “I should have started things sooner, then I wouldn't have had to take that _damned_ mission.” She lifted up Tom-Tom to face-to-face level: “Said callow youths would call your mama a very bad person,” she said ruefully as he pinched her nose, “but in truth she is just very stupid sometimes.”

“And you're no longer welcome in the Fire Nation,” said Aang. “I think you should surrender to the Northern Water Tribe. I'll talk to them; your son will have a good life there – that's an Avatar promise – and you'll set the right example, too.”

Michi looked him straight in the eye. She fought down the dread, forced herself to see only the idealistic youngster who thought only to blend justice and the best chance he could offer the innocent baby. _For all his power, that's_ really _what he is – when he's not glowing and butchering enemies by the army, at least. If this was peacetime and I had no office or ambition he would be correct, too._ “Is that the right example? No, I think not.” She held Tom-Tom to the side so they could be assured a good look at her robe's crest: “By donning this outfit I've sworn myself to the service of His Majesty the Feng King of the Reunited Elements, as his ambassador and advisor. That comes with an estate to provide for my son.” The three youngsters regarded her in stunned silence. Even Appa broke briefly from his grazing.

Finally Aang shrugged: “Well, you'll still have to deal with the Northern Water Tribe; even Captain Demasduit, the ambassador before you, admitted that half the Fuhe-Sida Kingdom's population and all of its ships are from the Tribe – and they kind of want them back.”

“ _Some_ of our ships,” said Michi. “Also the Feng King himself; he was known as Admiral Sangok the Elder before. As for the Tribe, I will of course _not_ be the Kingdom's _only_ ambassador.”

Katara's angry face broke into a sardonic, mirthless grin: “Did you say _Sangok?”_

“Yes; the boy who always stepped forward to be humiliated by you in practice is his son and heir. Since he escaped your and Pakku's bullying he has improved tremendously.”

“What! Bullying? But-”

“No buts, I said! Anyway, your brother seems to have a question for me.”

Sokka stepped forward: “Yeah: how come these people trust you? Do they even know who you are? I ask because, well, you heard what I said earlier plus you're a _firebender._ ”

“They know exactly who I am and the rest doesn't concern you, only their imminent arrival. If you want to avenge Arnook this is probably the last chance you will ever get; shall I put the baby down so we can begin?”

Aang shook his head, but Sokka and Katara were staring at Michi, ready to attack. Slowly, she began to set the baby down. The Avatar ran to the middle: “Come on, guys, you'd think we've had enough fighting for one day! Arnook is gone no matter what we do,” he turned to the assassin: “and Michi, so are all your relatives in the armada.” She shrugged. “If you're honest about turning on the Fire Nation, well I say we need all the help we can get.”

“Agreed, but that doesn't make us old friends so enough of this Michi business; you may address me as _Lady Xiang_ and before you ask, Xiang was also my maiden name so repudiating my husband will not change it.”

“You might want to learn to give a little ground here and there if you're gonna be an ambassador,” said Aang pleasantly. “We just call everyone by their given names if we know them.”

Michi straightened up and narrowed her eyes sceptically for a while. “Very well,” she said at length. “Now if you aren't going to attack me, I'm sure you have some sort of agenda; don't let me keep you from it.”

“Right,” said Sokka. He walked sideways toward Appa, keeping his eyes fixed on Michi. After final brief looks, his sister and the Avatar chose not to observe this precaution.

 

At that moment the river, which was already flowing quickly and dangerously, with jagged rocks sticking out everywhere, rumbled loudly and began to swell; an orb of water half again as tall as a man came crashing down and disintegrated violently, splashing downstream and out jumped a large figure, landing right in front of Appa as he lifted his face from grazing, startled. Then he bared his teeth and growled nasally, but the newcomer stood her ground.

Dressed in what looked to be a Kyoshi warrior's kimono, less the armour, fans and headpiece, Niyok, perfectly dry, her chin jutting out and upward in an obvious aggressive posture, stared Appa down until he stopped growling and backed away. Only then did Niyok turn to Michi with a hand-wave and smile, then pointed at Appa, who was returning sullenly to his grazing and cocked an interrogating eyebrow.

“That's the Avatar's sky bison; like his master, not as extinct as was thought.”

“Hey, I'm not Appa's master, we-”

“Details! I suggest you not start splitting hairs in Niyok's presence and be on your way.”

Niyok's eyebrow climbed still further: “What, just these three? They're kids!”

“Not now, Niyok,” said Michi, vexed.

The giant ignored her and turned to the others: “Didn't think you two were this young. Can't leave you by yourselves in the wilderness.”

“Hey, we're not just kids anymore,” said Sokka, affronted. “And we're not alone! We were going back to talk with the Omashu Resistance anyway.”

Niyok nodded: “Good; I want to see them. What's Yung up to?”

“Wait, you know him?” asked the Avatar.

Niyok nodded again, silently. When it became obvious she wasn't about to elaborate, Michi explained: “Ten years ago, Omashu was plagued by pirate dens all around its shores that strangled the trade, demanding huge ransoms. Yung and then-Admiral Sangok coordinated to attack them at once by land and sea. Niyok wrought such great destruction on them that she rose to fame as the Fleet's top fighter at the tender age of ask her if you want to know.”

“Seventeen,” said Niyok.

“Yeah, see? That's a much better story,” said Sokka. “Why can't you be more like her?”

“She's my mother 'cept in blood,” Niyok said frostily. Michi gawked at her unintelligently.

“Boy, you people are touchy,” said Sokka. “Look, I don't even know what Michi's doing among Sangok's people or how long she's been with you guys.”

Niyok cocked an eyebrow at the assassin. She got only a look of quite a bit of love mixed with a lot of confusion, then finally a small nod.

“She started it all. Came to Sangok with the idea and money 'bout twenty years ago.”

Sokka and Katara began to regard Michi with more respect, in spite of themselves. Their father had told them about Sangok's fleet in brief, describing it as the Northern Water Tribe's persistent expedition against worldwide piracy and the Fire Nation. He could say little more, since they had always kept mostly to themselves. Now they knew that the Tribe had had no real control over the fleet to begin with, even as it unwillingly provided recruits and ships.

Aang was moved too, but to sympathy: “Then you've been working against the Fire Nation all this time? Wasn't it hard to balance it with playing Firelord's assassin?”

“Oh, not at all,” said Michi, still not quite all there. She shook her head hard, drawing a round of chuckles from Tom-Tom: “I mean, it required me to travel for long stretches of time without supervision, no questions asked if I took my time, often I was even _ordered_ to make contact with potential recruits; I couldn't have wished for a better job.”

The Avatar creased his brow: “ _Okay_ , but that's not really-”

“Never mind, Aang,” said Katara testily. “She doesn't care about the bodies in her wake.”

Michi nodded solicitously and smiled.

 

“Lady Xiang, over here! Who're the youngsters? Did we miss something?”

Zai and the rest of Michi's cell emerged from among the rocks, complete with two recruits from the city; fourteen all told. They were dressed to travel, all laden with big knapsacks. Their weapons were many and varied, but all sheathed or tucked away, their postures relaxed.

“Good to see you,” said Michi and gestured at Aang: “This young boy is the Avatar – yes, _that_ Avatar – and his companions, Katara and Sokka of the Southern Water Tribes.”

Zai stopped short; his face turned as yellow as his amber, Fire Islands eyes: “That boy is – what are you doing with the Avatar? I – are we safe?”

“Yes, everyone's safe!” said Aang, equal parts sad and agitated. It startled all the newcomers. “Look, I know I did a terrible thing in the North but I really don't want to hurt anybody.”

“Okay, let's go with that,” said Qamaniq; she was all but joined at the hip with Zai, thanks to his being freed from his own cover. She walked up to the Avatar boldly, the others following cautiously at half-speed, introduced herself and extended a hand.

The Avatar shook it readily, giving his own name, then he looked at the others and saw they were still tense. He grinned: “Do you guys want to see something cool?”

Only raised eyebrows answered this, so he stowed a hand deep into a pocket, then in a swift movement produced a number of marbles, spinning rapidly between his palms.

The soldiers started looking at each other and shrugging; a chuckle not unlike a sneeze escaped from Qamaniq. Zai scratched the back of his head: “Well, that looks like a neat trick; Miss Kong, your opinion?”

“Oh, I'm no master, but it takes fine control to create such a narrow air loop.”

It was Aang's turn to be nonplussed. He closed his hands around the marbles and pocketed them: “Uh, thanks?”

Niyok cleared her throat, irritated.

“Right,” said Zai. “What's actually going on here?”

“Apparently, we're all going to meet up with the Omashu Resistance,” said Michi. “They might try to arrest or kill me.”

“They won't,” said Niyok.

 

In the end they didn't, though General Yung took some effort in convincing even when he found out Michi was the true originator of Sangok's Fleet. But everyone who had fought the pirates, the Resistance's hard heart of veterans, wanted to shake Niyok's hand and take a good look at her face; they accepted Michi and her predominantly Fire National soldiers as guests on her word.

When talk turned to the Resistance's plan, Yung said that he wanted to lead them to Ba Sing Se: “We've all lived our lives in a large city,” he added as explanation.

“What about Omashu?” asked Niyok. Her frown added the unspoken 'aren't you going to fight for your own homes?' eloquently enough.

Yung's own frown remained exactly as it'd been: “We figured that we'll fight the invaders more effectively if we attach to the Capital's armies.” He looked down: “Well, after the Avatar broke through my mulishness.”

“I think not,” said Michi. “According to every report I've heard and read, from Fire Nation, Earth Kingdoms and Fuhe-Sida Kingdom forces alike, Ba Sing Se has pretty much abandoned the rest of the Continent to its fate. While it swells with refugees, no more serious forces or supplies have come out since before I killed the 51st Earth King. At the time I'd been convinced rubbing that lazy old tyrant out would stir some feeling in Ba Sing Se and get them into the war, yet twenty years later... ”

“Come to think of it, I don't even remember getting anything more than big promises from the Capital in my lifetime,” said one of the General's younger aides. “Mostly _we_ were the ones relieving, or trying to relieve, the smaller cities and states to the North of here.”

“I don't get it,” said Aang. “Why would Ba Sing Se abandon the rest of the Earth Kingdom?”

“If I knew that I would have said so earlier,” said Michi snippily. “At any rate _you_ would be better served attending to your education, not trying to make sense of war councils.”

Zai, eyes bugged out, spoke over all intended responses: _“Whoa_ , ma'am! You really want to take that tone with _him?”_

“Not especially, but someone has to.”

“That's why I came here, to see if Bumi could teach me earthbending,” said Aang crossly. “Now he sent me to find someone who _waits and listens;_ General Yung's earthbenders are all aggressive warriors.”

“Well, yes,” said Yung, peeved that this should be considered a bad thing.

Michi breathed in for a tirade: “That's not the kind of-”

Niyok's hand settled heavily onto her shoulder. When Michi turned to her, the giant shook her head.

“Alright, enough of this,” said Yung in his quietly sullen way; “So you're saying going to the Capital is a bad idea? Why?”

“It's a bad idea if you want to stay in the war, sir,” said Zai.

“I do,” said Yung. When Aang opened his mouth, Yung raised a hand: “Avatar, you yourself said 'live to fight another day'! It's another day.”

“Well, if you can't take the occupation force _head on_ in the city, Earth Kingdom style, you could always roam the countryside and hit'em where they're weak, like we do in the Water Tribes,” said Sokka. “All those soldiers they have invading the Earth Kingdom need to eat and I don't see the Fire Nation bothering to ship its own food over when they can just take from the civilians. It'll be like hunting bandits – pirates, whatever – all over again!”

Niyok grinned; it was at once pretty and nasty: “Heh, Water Tribe warrior indeed!” And she planted the other hand on his shoulder.

Yung smiled and even seemed to gain a bit of height: “Hunting them cross-country like the bandits they are _does_ sound like fun.”

“Good man,” said Michi, then to Sokka: “You as well: once again we see that, for getting blood to move, nothing beats a young male warrior!”

The young male warrior cocked an eyebrow: “No offence, but I'm not sure I like your approval.”

Michi's smile only grew at this: “Don't worry; I doubt you'll have it for long.”

“But what will you do now?” asked Yung. “I doubt the Avatar would want to join the kind of dirty war we'll be getting into and I doubt even more that you, lady Xiang, will have the time.”

“No, indeed; I am to rendezvous with His Majesty's messenger at a town south of here called Chin, to receive my first mission, while the Avatar no doubt will want to begin his search for a suitably... spiritual earthbending teacher at once.”

“About that,” said Yung. “While the Avatar was gone my men caught a Fire National skulking 'round here; he was dressed like you, minus the gold, so we thought he was a spy. We discovered some messages sealed with that emblem on your chest.”

“That's the Fuhe-Sida Royal Seal!” gasped Zai. “Lady Xiang may wear it on her official robes as a special honour to her as The Founder!”

Michi's easy smile had given way to her hard business-face.

“I saw the whole thing! It took three earthbenders and four others to finally put him down,” said a younger, female aide, in tones of open admiration: “I hadn't realized you taught your people to fight so _dirty!”_

“Thank you, I do my best,” said Michi. “Where is he?”

“If he _is_ one of yours,” said Yung. “Might be he killed the real messenger and stole his things.”

Niyok nodded: “Let's see him.”

The aide made to go fetch him, but took only a small half-step until Yung gave her a nod. Then he turned to the Avatar:

“Well, if you don't want to return to Fong's base, Chin is a good enough place to start looking for teachers,” said Yung, causing Michi's smile to give the briefest falter. “It's the biggest town between here and Gao Ling.”

“Yeah,” said the biggest of Zai's soldiers, who had Earth Kingdom dark green eyes; “If you've no joy there Gao Ling is famous for having good earthbending academies.”

“Thanks,” said Aang; “can't wait to start learning!”

The soldier grinned: “My sister studied in Gao Ling. You'll change your mind.”

 

Just then, two huge, burly soldiers brought the prisoner. He was as tall as them but lean and badly beaten, face all puffy, gait shaky on two hurt ankles, one eye half-closed, the other fully closed under a mess of purple flesh, his lips and knuckles all opened and bloody. But he stood stubbornly straight, wearing the all-black robe with every bit of Michi's casual elegance but missing the cap and walked on his own, needing no support from the guards, who restrained his already chained arms. His auburn hair flowed to the small of his back in a sort of artful disarray. Yung's aide brought the messages, her eyes straying to him constantly.

“Lee!” said Michi, happy.

“Junjie!” gasped Insun, horrified, and all but flew at him and hugged him tightly.

“Hi, Lee,” said Zai, Niyok and Qamaniq at the same time, then exchanged looks.

“I'm fine, I'm fine,” he said, trying to keep the pain out of his voice and leaning back so as not to drool blood on Insun's head. When the sullen guards took the chains off he hugged her back: “You should see the other guys!”

“Three are still on their cots,” snapped the aide sullenly; her approval of Lee Junjie's performance had evaporated suddenly. She mastered herself to present the scrolls, two for Niyok, one for Michi: “Anyway, Ladies Xiang and Lan, these are for you.”


	17. Prodigy and Legend

Niyok cocked an eyebrow at her second scroll; it was small and marked 'private'. She turned her eyes to Michi just in time to see her hide a big grin and clear her throat: “So, Lee, what brings you out here? Weren't you supposed to wait for us in Chin?”

Lee pulled back his head and swallowed the blood in his mouth, looking pained: “I wasn't ordered specifically, but after – well let's just say that I need to talk to Insun and sitting on my hands waiting for her to come to me is just not my way.” The hugging couple looked at each other adoringly but Michi cleared her throat again in a way that sounded suspiciously like “crowd” so they refrained from kissing. “The cuts and bruises-to-be weren't my idea,” Lee added.

“At least they should teach you that initiative like all good things is only good _most_ of the time,” said Michi, but her tone was that of a kindly teacher to a student who has erred only due to his undisciplined good intentions. “Insun, why don't you get some of the locals to secure our effects, including Mr. Lee's, and prepare food and hot baths, or at least a sauna? Feel free to throw gold and silver at them until they cooperate.”

Insun turned around, wide-eyed: “But _I_ do those-”

“Yes, and very well, so you'll know if the hirelings aren't up to their jobs before I have to notice,” said Michi, then her smile widened: “Don't be so alarmed, Lee is here; he can show you the ropes.”

“Come on, let's go rustle up some help,” he said, bright-eyed and grinning, careless now of his split lips. “We'll need at least five people to replace you!”

“Oh no, two will definitely be enough,” said Insun, blushing brightly.

“Good luck,” said Michi as they left, then turned to Niyok, who was already through her first scroll, the larger one, grinning massively, eyes gleaming. “Good news?”

“You bet,” said Niyok and gave Michi the opened scroll, beginning at once to pick at the small one. Michi read. Sangok wrote that he'd loosed Lee Weide (the first Fire Nation industrialist she had suborned and Junjie's father) upon the vast deposits of saltpetre and brimstone that the Air Nomads had recorded extensively but barely even touched throughout millennia of possessing the craggy islands he now ruled. Weide was smuggling in migrant workers from Fire Nation, colonies and Earth states alike – this gave Michi pause and many ominous thoughts began to form, but she focused on reading the whole thing first – to dig them out of the earth and produce blasting powder in ever-increasing amounts.

The king meant to use it to literally blow the Fire Nation military out of the north-western Earth Kingdom with the connivance of its community leaders. This was the area where the Fire Nation was well-entrenched but had few colonies, mostly just soldiers, almost a hundred thousand in theatre, including bureaucrats and the much hated tax collectors who starved the locals.

If Sangok promised to lower taxes enough they claimed not to care if he destroyed everything, while Jun Morishita, mayor of Yu Dao and secretly the strongman of all the Fire Nation's secessionist colonies, which he had built up into an overwhelming majority, was also eager to share a border with his northern ally and learn from him – eager enough to send an army of three thousand, as big as Sangok's, to figure out how to fight against overwhelming numbers, anticipating Earth Kingdom reconquest attempts after the Fire Nation was defeated.

The king required that Zai and his troop take over the ruined town of Taku, south of the Fire Nation's main stronghold (Pouhai), setting it up as a rendezvous and staging area for any forces Niyok, Michi or anyone else might recruit in the rest of the Earth states, from where they would harass the stronghold with an eye to preventing its many soldiers from reinforcing against the king's and Morishita's invasions. Finally, Niyok would accompany Michi on her mission or take it over then lead any help from Ba Sing Se or its vicinity to Taku and besiege Pouhai in earnest.

The giant stared into the small scroll: “ _What the-_ ”

“Is there a problem?” the Avatar and Michi asked at the same time.

“He's asking me to marry him!”

“Ah! Excellent.”

Sokka shrugged: “Uh, congratulations?”

“Congratulate _her,”_ snapped Niyok, pointing the once-again rolled-up scroll at Michi.

“Not yet, not yet,” said Michi. “This isn't the Fire Nation; you can still refuse, even if he's the king. You know that, right?”

“ _Yeah,”_ said Niyok; “what's the point? I mean, we've already f-”

“Been together, yes,” said Michi quickly, “but you always took seeds of wild carrot afterwards. Thing is, we need more princes for the succession, in case something should happen to _both_ Sangoks. That aside, I know you don't like babies but as queen you could have servants, wet-nurses, whatever you want, or do you _prefer_ that your strength die with you?” Niyok rolled her eyes with a vexed, throaty growl. Michi turned to Yung, who was wearing a scowl, this time not very subdued: “If anyone else talked to her like that she'd be ripping their heads off – _literally._ ”

“Should I be worried?” he snapped.

“Oh, not at all; it's quite hilarious! Also messy but who cares, out here?”

The general narrowed his eyes in displeasure at that answer, but decided to dismiss it.

A big smile of ill omen stretched on Niyok's face, slowly. “Fine, I'll do it. Your message.”

“Oh, yes!” Michi stepped away from Yung, the Avatar and Hakoda's children, affecting to stroll around randomly as she returned Niyok's summons and opened her own scroll.

Sangok was thanking her profusely and the same in royal, vermilion ink for accepting to become a subject (alternatively, he expressed polite regret if she had refused). _Well, he_ is _a candid one._ If accepted she was to travel to Chin and Gao Ling and do her best to coax or intimidate these cities into joining the war on the Fire Nation. The whole region south of Omashu, the Si Wong Desert and Ba Sing Se had not been attacked in earnest recently, only raided occasionally and most often by sea, but if Gao Ling and Chin led the way into war, other towns would likely follow.

Finally she was to proceed to the Earth Kingdom capital: 'Wu Hongxiang will be your liaison there. He says the Dai Li is still suppressing word of the war. If the good people of Ba Sing Se can be convinced to get off their arses and back in it, that would be brilliant. Destroy the entire Dai Li if you have to – or if you want to. After that, go to your land, build a home and relax – that's not just a royal command, but a doctor's order, so it stands even if you're not my subject!'

He ended with a less florid signature than he'd put on Niyok's scroll and she looked up to the giant to see thickly veiled curiosity, only discernible to the trained eye. Michi gave her the scroll.

“But,” said Niyok, when she was finished, “you'll miss the campaign! At least I should catch the second half...”

“Imagine my disappointment,” said Michi with heavy sarcasm. “Just end the carnage quickly; you'll recall I _had_ my taste of mass warfare and found it _revolting._ ”

“Siege of Ba Sing Se,” Niyok explained to the wondering audience, picking up the sturdiest of a bunch of tree branches prepared for fires, about the size of Aang's arm. “Pry about it, I snap your necks – like _so.”_ And she casually broke the branch in two, throwing them back into the pile. Then back to Michi: “Anyway, that's why you get to go home after.”

“Indeed, and if you warriors don't take another hundred years we'll have a lovely reunion in our lifetimes.”

“Hundred years? No chance,” said Niyok. “Worst case, five.”

That got Yung's (scornful) attention again: “Wait, you're saying you can end this war within _five years?_ How? With what army?”

“One, most likely,” said Niyok with another baleful smirk. “Send a mission with Zai if you want eyes there.”

“Shu,” called Yung in reply, turning to the man in question. “You're it. Get ten volunteers – with at least two good writers!”

The man bowed crisply: “Yes sir!” and marched into the camp.

“We leave at nightfall,” Zai called after him.

Hearing this, Qamaniq, who had taken up the sleeping Tom-Tom, returned him to his mother's hands, saying: “Well, now we _really_ need to prepare. Will you be alright? You look tired.”

Michi wrapped the baby slowly in her wide-sleeved arms. She looked Qamaniq in the eye with what looked like the beginnings of despair and began to blurt something out, but then she mastered herself and smiled exuberantly: “I'll be fine. We should be fine as long as we have work.”

Sooner than they should have, Junjie and Insun turned up with a huge bronze cauldron that even Niyok might fit in and a shabby-looking young couple. Katara quickly pulled a large glob of water to fill it with, in one neat, graceful kata, just as Niyok was starting to walk to the river for the same reason. The giant followed the glob's sixty foot dash in wonder; it ended up in the pot without spilling a single drop. Junjie and the young man carried the pot into a small tent, followed by his wife and Michi.

Niyok scowled down at Katara: “Pakku trained _you?”_

“Yes,” said Aang from behind her, proud and oblivious. “He named her a waterbending master, and now she's training me!”

The giant lifted her chin and stiffened. A powerful light was issuing from the tent now. “Never trained with an official _master,”_ said Niyok, sneering. “Care to show me a few things?”

Katara scowled: “Sure, why not?” Then to the Avatar: _“Thanks,_ Aang.”

He raised his hands in hectic calming motions: “Hey, come on guys, there's no need to fight; we're all on the same side, right?”

Niyok merely continued to scowl at Katara (who scowled right back) and pointed at the river. They both started that way.

Insun popped up at his side, even more agitated, carelessly: “Right, right! Niyok, please don't attack her; she's an ally, remember?”

“She needs this,” said Niyok firmly.

Insun calmed down immediately: “I see.” She turned to Aang: “It's quite alright, Niyok knows what she's doing. I've coaxed some excellent pork and sheep stews from the locals; would you like some?”

The Avatar turned to her in some shock: “ _Meat_ stews? Uh, no thanks, I don't eat any meat. Wait, do _you?_ ”

“Of course!”

“Oh... Air Nomads were all vegetarians. Didn't you know?”

“I'm afraid not,” she said. “I went to school in the Fire Nation; they only taught us vicious lies about your people. All I can offer you is tea and cookies.”

“I could teach you about our people,” he said with brittle hope.

“Sounds interesting, but sorry, it's _your_ people. I could _never_ be a nun.” She turned to the firebenders as they left the tent with the young man; Lee, his face shiny with sweat, grinned hugely and she blushed: “I'm to be married to Junjie and we are both of the Fuhe-Sida Kingdom. Still, it's good that you asked me; I'm afraid the other airbenders I know have little respect for the Air Nomads. They're all warriors.”

At that moment a tremendous splashing noise startled them and they turned to the river. Katara and Niyok had begun, both with large waves but Katara's was by far the greater. It absorbed Niyok's and crashed into her, shoving her a couple paces back. The giant was wide-eyed at the girl's enormous power, but formed one of her travel-orbs quickly and charged Katara head on; the next wave only checked her briefly and Katara only stopped her a couple feet away by raising a plume of jagged ice that tore the orb. Its momentum sent it splashing down over the girl then back on either side of the ice, for she was upstream.

But it also contained Niyok herself, who bore down on Katara foot first; it was all the girl could do for a few moments to duck, weave and swerve under the giant's kicks and haymakers, until she chose instead to pull off a large spike of ice and block Niyok's next punch wit it, never touching it until the giant's strength shattered it against her gut. Katara _screamed_ in pain and folded onto Niyok's arm, but when the next fist came down on the back of her head the girl dodged at the last moment, grabbed the wrist with both hands and pulled Niyok down. The giant's feet slipped off the riverbed's moss and she fell into the river face-first, but when Katara tried to twist the arm behind her back she just righted it irresistibly and slashed at the water, shoving the girl back with a chest-high wave.

Katara quickly gained control of it as Niyok righted herself and sent it as a tentacle at her face. The giant just stood there and the water crashed with great force against her head, sending it back and to the side like a very heavy slap, but Niyok just turned back to Katara with a little smirk.

 

Aang gave Insun a worried, sceptical look: “This doesn't look quite alright to me.”

Sokka skidded to a halt beside him: “What's going on?”

Insun waved them down: “Oh, it's just a sparring session – well, a waterbender's honour duel.”

“Ah,” said Sokka, suddenly and briefly calm, then punched the air, shrieking: “ _Go, sis!_ ”

Aang didn't seem as happy with her explanation but at that moment the firebenders and the male half of the couple Junjie had hired for Michi appeared behind the three. “Kindly stay out of it, Avatar,” said Michi, chuckling. “If you interrupt their duel they will _both_ turn on you.”

“Besides, even Niyok doesn't kill or maim in honour duels,” said Insun, and Aang settled down.

Katara was darting around Niyok, pelting her with eclectic waterbending and keeping her distance. Her opponent swatted away or absorbed the blows, dancing almost on the spot, waiting to pounce.

Junjie gave an almost girlish shriek: “Is that girl holding her own against Lady _Lan_?”

“I don't believe this,” said Insun quietly.

 

Shortly, Niyok found her opening and lunged, twisting past Katara's latest wave, at the same time sending ahead blade waves on either side so Katara had no way to flee but straight back.

When they were passing the girl, Niyok pulled the blade-waves in too; Katara suppressed them with an ample double slash of her hands but the water's momentum still stopped her from backing any further; Niyok's hands were almost on her when she created a circle of tentacles around herself to beat her back with. Frustrated of the vulnerable flesh behind them, the giant wrestled violently with the water.

 

Lee Junjie had brought his voice back to its manly timbre but he was no less shocked: “What the hell, is the girl bending _all that water_ by herself?”

“Mind your language around the children,” Michi snapped automatically. “Anyway, I saw Pakku handle much more than this, but that was a simple wave, during a full moon Arctic night.”

“Not to brag, but my sister _is_ pretty awesome,” said Sokka. His smugness seemed to be pushed apurpose to the point of parody. “She's handled bigger things than your, uh, Niyok.”

 

Happy to check her opponent again, Katara tried twice to trap Niyok in ice, but the giant managed to break it mid-forming both times. So she piled on more and more pressure and it looked for a moment like the writhing mass of tentacles would finally subdue Niyok.

But just when the giant went down on one knee, a thin line shot up from the clearer water right in front of Katara and nailed her in the eye.

The girl gasped and brought a hand up reflexively. The writhing mass engulfing Niyok had no sooner begun to falter that she squeezed out and iced the water around Katara's feet. The girl began to struggle but before she could do anything Niyok seized her by the lapel of her robe and she found herself staring at a massive closed fist, held at the ready to take her head off.

“I win,” Niyok said in a loud, threatening tone. Katara nodded quickly; Niyok opened her fist and gestured widely to release the ice around Katara's ankles amd the huge bloom of icicles nearby back into the liquid water its temperature wanted to make it. The water resumed its normal flow. Niyok stretched, bones creaking in her whole body: “Not bad!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don't really know what to put footnotes on anymore. Make sure to leave a comment if you don't understand anything, or really if you have any civil feedback it would be welcome.


	18. Away from Omashu

“What happened?” asked Michi.

“I think Niyok got water into the girl's eye and broke her focus,” said Insun.

“Yeah, that's what happened,” said Aang.

“Still, that girl is a  _ monster,” _ said Junjie.

Sokka, already annoyed, rounded on him: “Hey, don't call my sister a monster!”

Junjie scratched his head: “Why not? I meant it as a  _ compliment!” _

“What, you guys use monster as a compliment? That explains a few things.”

Junjie smiled widely: “I'd like to see what she can do in a boiler! You'd need  _ five _ of Niyok to equal that kind of power there.”

“The boiler would  _ explode,” _ said Insun, worried.

“Not the really big ones,” said Junjie. “Hell, we could put a steel mill on a river and have her power it; she'd probably improve on  _ crucible _ steel...”

“Uh, I'm pretty sure Katara is a person, not a water wheel,” said Aang, channelling Sokka, who nodded approval.

“Yes, and reality reasserts itself,” said Michi, mimicking his smugness from before. “Old age and treachery will always beat youth and skill.”

“Old age is right,” said Sokka immediately.

As Niyok and Katara, both dry thanks to waterbending, closed the distance, Junjie rolled his eyes and shrugged. “Yeah, well, why don't we heat up the stews before Youa finishes?” he asked Michi, naming the female half of her couple of new servants.

She nodded; Niyok nodded too, vigorously; when they all sat down to eat Youa had already finished bathing and served the food and such drinks as could be found for the twenty people in Michi and Zai's parties including the impromptu guests Aang, Sokka and Katara, who got a big round of applause; Niyok even produced a small wineskin and toasted her solemnly: “Well fought, Master Katara.”

“We're not mocking you, dear,” said Qamaniq, seeing her thoroughly flustered. “Nobody's given Niyok trouble in one on one in the last five years!”

Katara put on a dubious smile: “Thank you all; I'm glad we put on a good show at least. I'll try to do better next time.”

That got even greater applause and cheers, with cries such as “Them's fighting words,” “Atta girl!” and “Niyok's got herself a rival!” Niyok herself grinned wolfishly. Then the food came and empty stomachs quickly overruled bloody minds.

 

Under Insun's chirping direction, Youa saved the best meat for herself and her husband San, who was now bathing. It was a strict rule of Michi's, whenever away from Fire Nation eyes at least, to reserve things like the best food and the first _and_ last baths for her menial servants.

As soon as she was finished, she pulled Insun aside: “Miss Kong, I don't mean to be rude, maybe it's just that I come from a big city, but there's a saying: If something looks too good to be true, it is. The best food, double baths and a silver Yuan a day _each?_ ”

“Oh, I didn't have time to tell you this before but the Lady is a very proud woman,” Insun answered, and smiled fondly: “She will not suffer members of her retinue to be poor, shabby or ignorant – within reason, of course; we're on the open road, she will understand that it's just not possible to buy silk.”

“ _Silk?_ ”

Insun understood her horror only too well: silk was prohibitively expensive, worn only by the rich and then for status; it was said across the world that even the Earth King and Firelord didn't keep their servants in silk (true except their close attendants). But Michi insisted on it. “Indeed, _silk._ I've found it's best to get the highest quality you can find that's _thin._ Also, if you want to stay in the Lady's service long term, find at least one high culture hobby that you like: music – that's hers and mine, poetry, ikebana, theatre, prose, something.”

“But – _why?_ How will that help me attend to her? You know how much work it can be – where do you find the time?”

“You won't be serving twenty people every day, with the Lady herself and Junjie having to stand in for the hearth because even a large campfire is too slow. Don't worry, you'll have time. If I had time to attend school...”

Youa made to scratch her temple but stopped short and cleared her throat: “I know about school with work, at least.”

“Anyway, here,” said Insun and put two coins in Youa's hand. It slumped briefly under them, for they were silver – tangible, dense, _real._ “By the way we're now out of silver coins; it's on to gold Yuan now – one for both every seven days.”

Youa took some time to process this. “That adds up [1], but I've never handed gold.”

“We've all been there,” said Insun.

At that moment San emerged from the bath-tent, still red-faced from the hot water: “Who's next?”

 

The afternoon passed in noisy levity until, at dusk, Zai, Qamaniq and the others picked up their haversacks. They formed a line, Insun (holding Tom-Tom), Michi and Niyok lined up to shake everyone's hand and they marched off, disappearing among the crags before long.

When San and Youa had packed everything away and finished bathing again, Junjie and Michi, now out of their official robes and into a light working suit for him and her midnight blue assassin's costume for her, fell on their bedrolls like rocks and began to snore like airbenders.

 

About a dozen miles away, Azula was being carried out of the governor's mansion on an open palanquin; Mai and Ty Lee tagged along on foot almost immediately.

“So, we're hunting down your brother and uncle?” Mai asked the princess drily.

Before Azula could answer, Ty Lee piped up: “It will be interesting seeing Zuko again, _won't it, Mai_?”

Mai turned away from her to hide a smile.

“It's not just Iroh and Zuko anymore,” said Azula with her usual contained intensity. “Your mother and her little gang of friends are targets as well – particularly the _Avatar.”_

Ty Lee cringed; Mai felt the skin of her forearms crawl a little. Even the _Firelord_ couldn't put so much hatred into a simple word. Then her thought turned to the battles ahead... she took the next step without touching the heel of her foot to the cobbles. It was a tiny deviation, but tantamount to an excited skip with her and Ty Lee didn't miss it: “What's up?”

“I was thinking about Mom's big waterbender, the one who killed most of the soldiers,” said Mai. “We'll have some fun taking _her_ down-”

Ty Lee's eyebrows climbed: “Wait, wasn't that a _him?”_

“...No,” said Azula, with not a little contempt.

“Besides, my mom's almost as bad when she's not nodding off like that.”

Azula was stung by the memory of going one to one with Michi and coming second, escaping with her life several times only by the narrowest of margins. “What do you mean?” she snapped coldly.

“Mom was on Insun's soothing tea again,” said Mai. “She always drank it before an audience with the Firelord. It makes her slow.”

“Are you saying she can match me when she's not even at her best?” Azula demanded inevitably.

“Looks like it,” said Mai bluntly and shrugged: “Then again, you always win. I don't see you breaking that habit now, with your life on the line.”

“Your life is on the line too,” said Azula roughly.

Mai met her eyes long enough to give a second blunt answer: “Yes, it is.”

“But how are we going to catch up with them?” asked Ty Lee.

“We're going right to that question's answer,” said Azula, smiling again.

She led them to a small encampment just south of the city's gateway and thin lip of stone, earthbent to easily withstand its own weight and precarious structure, on the lip of the chasm it bridged.

There a curious machine waited for them – a huge engine on tracks, with a nasty-looking snow-plough in front, a built-in tender filled with shiny, black coal and two wheeled wagons. Fire Nation soldiers with open-faced helmets, marking them as second echelon troops, were driving three placid mongoose-lizards into one of them. The girls could see harnesses hanging inside. The other wagon, also open, was luxuriously appointed for their own use.

They could only appreciate how massive the whole thing was as they got closer. Together, the wagons had at least half as much floor space as the main room of Ukano's villa. The officer in charge kowtowed: “Everything is ready for departure, Your Highness.”

Azula popped out of her palanquin and swept the whole scene under her glare. The soldiers were just closing the lead wagon behind the last lizard's tail. The cots, supplies and everything else seemed in place in the other wagon. Nothing out of order. She turned on her heels and started that way: “Alright – the hunting season is now _open_.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 1: In my head canon the Earth Kingdom and Fire Nation at least have the ratio between silver and gold fixed by royal edicts. The Fuhe-Sida Kingdom is at war with the latter and now in the process of attempting to ally or absorb various parts of the former, so adopting the ratio familiar to every Earth Kingdom subject is the logical choice.


	19. New Scenery

When Aang, Katara and Sokka bade good-bye to General Yung and the Resistance, Michi and her group had already vanished. Yung had given them a courteous but bland and short good-bye note from her and said that they left with the dawn. Aang shrugged, thanked them for the hospitality and mounted Appa, his companions and their light baggage already in the saddle.

“Yip-yip,” he cried, “Back to Kyoshi Island!”

 

Appa kicked off the ground mightily in his usual way and surged at great speed, directly south, along the river's path. His partner's destination would need a very shallow right turn, but such details were for the humans to sort out.

The bison was a sturdy creature, able to fly most of the day if he could graze good quality grass in the morning and evening. As the southbound river swelled with tributaries, there was no shortage of lush pastures on its sides and Appa made fools of the leagues. Few mounts or even ships could match the speed of a flying bison, though on the third morning when they climbed to Appa's cruising height they saw that a large raft with several people, moving with unnatural speed, had almost overtaken them in the night and the sky bison took half the day in putting it behind the horizon.

“Katara, we should cut our night sleep in half,” he said. “That way at least one of us can always keep watch; we can catch up in flight.”

“Good idea,” said she. “I'll take the first watches.” Her brother nodded.

“I can take watches too,” said Aang. At that moment Momo crawled up to his lap, yawned, stretched and curled up like a cat.

“Better not,” said Sokka. “We need you to be awake when you're flying Appa.”

“Sure, but I think that raft was Michi and her group. I don't think they'll hurt us; they want as many people as possible fighting the Fire Nation.”

“They might bring the Fire Nation on our heads,” said Katara. “The way Michi and that Princess Azula girl went at each other... then she wanted me to break her own daughter's arm – for choosing to stick with Azula over her, I think. If we're not careful we might get caught up in their feud.” She scowled at the northern horizon: “I don't need other people's feuds in my life.”

“I don't know, maybe I could help them get past it without any more bloodshed,” said Aang.

“Aang, this isn't the Gan Jin and Zhang tribes,” said Katara, a little impatiently. “We're talking about a hardened killer – and the Firelord's daughter, Zuko's sister. We're with you if you want to try but I think we can do more good _elsewhere_.”

“I don't know,” said Aang. “Michi's in a lot of pain. You noticed it too, I'm sure.”

“I didn't,” said Sokka.

“It's of her own making,” said Katara, now outright testy.

“Yeah! Besides, to them you're not the Avatar come back to save the world – you're just an enemy, or a weapon to throw at an enemy. Hey, with any luck, they'll take each other out and we won't have to worry about either!”

“They're human beings too,” said Aang in protest, but then he added more softly: “Then again, Michi is old enough to sort out her own life. She has a teenage daughter, after all. By the way, Katara, I'm pretty sure the reason she wanted you to break her daughter's arm was to keep her out of the fighting.”

Katara turned fully to face him: “How's that?”

“Well, you saw how much Michi loves Tom-Tom and how heartbroken she was to leave her daughter behind. She still has that mother's love for her – but she didn't let her in on the whole treason thing so Michi's friends don't know her and with their _screwy_ rules that that means they wouldn't have any problem hurting the daughter – and Michi can't do or say anything against it.”

Sokka gave a sardonic laugh: “Screwy? Way to understate, Aang, way to understate. Anyway, you must've paying more attention to those people's chatter than me. But we've got our own problems – such as food. We're running out.”

“We still have some money,” said Katara. “Don't worry, we're bound to find a village around here where we can buy some.”

They found no peopled villages that day, nor the next morning, only abandoned ruins and the raft, far behind. Then they flew over the border of an extremely swampy forest. The crowns of the trees stuck up like tiny, fuzzy mountains where they'd grown together on raised ground; elsewhere they were sporadic, revealing a thick fog and, here and there, the glint of water.

 

A good hour later, the raft was closing in on the marsh too, powered by Niyok and Insun's bending. They both looked exhausted, but the firebenders were on hand with massages and tea whenever they took a short brake; San and Youa stuck close to the centre-mounted mast, handling the chores and doing their best to ignore the constant creaking and small shifts of the logs. The whole raft had been roped together in haste and was not expected to last much.

Tom-Tom had at least one pair of eyes on him constantly, for Michi would not suffer him to be bound.

Insun's wind faltered and stopped; she collapsed on her haunches, gasping shallowly for air. Junjie was behind her at once, rubbing her shoulders vigorously: “That's alright, you're doing great. Deep breaths, deep breaths...”

But Insun's gaze slowly crept up past the fluttering sail: “What's _that?_ ”

Michi was busy playing with her son but Junjie looked up, and even Niyok, as she swished through her waterbending kata like clockwork. A well-defined, greenish tornado was moving rapidly, deep inside the swamp.

Junjie and his fiancée followed it in fascinated horror. “Is that _normal?_ ” he asked.

“No,” said Niyok.

“Could be... a really powerful airbender, swatting away an intruder,” said Insun.

Junjie considered this. “Well, you're a really powerful airbender – seriously, I promise I'm not just sucking up – and you can't create _tornadoes._ Gotta be the Avatar. Wonder what pissed _him_ off.”

The tornado abated suddenly.

“Oh... I really hope this means the Avatar won,” said Insun. Then she twisted around to kiss Junjie's cheek: “Thanks, anyway.” He quickly but gently seized her chin for a bit of mouth to mouth which quickly drew an obvious throat-clear from Michi, but they only froze the kiss long enough to notice that she was wearing a big, miuschievous smile.

“Well, we've got at least an Avatar's worth of fighting power on this raft, right?” asked San nervously.

“Easily,” Niyok grunted through her teeth, as she strained to put as much speed as possible into the raft.

 

Soon, she'd powered them into the swamp itself. Almost at once they were surrounded by a heady fog. “This swamp's air is foul,” warned Junjie. “It might make us hallucinate or ill. Don't follow strange visions, especially you, Lady Lan; you'll sail us into a tree!”

There was a hideous shriek from the right, caused everyone to flinch and Tom-Tom to start crying.

“Everyone heard that, I take it,” snapped Niyok.

“There!” said Insun, pointing. A small, stuffy, barrel-chested white bird perched on a low branch opened its beak again and another shriek came out, just like the first but longer. Then a vine behind it _moved –_ it swatted the shrieking bird off its branch, and straight at the raft.

Junjie's hand darted up and snatched it out of the air, causing it to struggle uselessly and renew its shriek with desperate strength. Tom-Tom covered his ears and joined it in sobbing. It took its off-balance captor a couple of seconds to right himself and shut the bird up by snapping its neck.

“Bit of fresh meat, if it's any good,” he said, but everyone else's face had gone ashen, they stared at where the bird had been; even Niyok had stopped bending. The vine had settled lazily onto the branch.

Only Michi was distracted by calming down her son: “There, there, Mr. Lee shut up the nasty bird, see?”

“That vine just moved, right?” asked Youa, on the frayed edges of a panic attack. “It's not a hallucination if I'm not the only one who saw it, right? That bird didn't fly into your hand by itself, _right?_ ”

“You're not mad, the vine moved,” said Niyok in her usual curt manner, but clearly nervous.

“Spirit vines!” Insun blurted out. “The swamp is full of spirit vines!”

Michi, having calmed her son, sneered automatically: “Insun, you're a grown woman. _Spirit_ vines?”

“I don't think there are other kinds of moving vines, ma'am,” said Insun. “We should leave the swamp's wood alone; the vines themselves especially.”

Junjie held up the dead bird: “As crazy as that sounds, we have the proof right here.”

“Oh no, I don't want to die,” Youa whimpered.

“I'm not about to yield you up to _vines,_ spirit or otherwise,” said Michi in a steely tone.

“San, hug your wife tightly,” Insun ordered with sudden firmness. He did so at once, while Insun took her hands gently in hers: “Don't worry, the vines aren't coming after us. After all, they just beat the noisy bird away: it was Junjie who killed it. I don't think they'll hurt us,” she turned to Michi and mimicked her hard tone almost perfectly: “As long as we don't _provoke_ them.”

Michi raised the hand that wasn't holding her son in a commitment to non-aggression. Insun turned the Look on Junjie.

“Hey, I've only gratitude for the vines,” he said. “They gave me prey!” He began to scorch away its feathers; Niyok resumed waterbending the raft southwards, but slower, her eyes darting every which way.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Team Avatar's appearance in this chapter breaks off right where the Swamp episode would begin. Their next few hours will not diverge from the show.


	20. Breakdown

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I must've written a good 10,000 words before I got a version for this chapter I'm somewhat happy with! Hey, just because it's a fic doesn't mean I don't have to try to get it right! Right? Well, did I succeed? That, as always, is up to each reader.

The next day, around the same time, Niyok was floating the raft forward by herself, slowly and cautiously; Insun had just rocked Tom-Tom to sleep and looked up at Junjie: “Isn't he a darling?”

“He's alright, I guess,” he said airily, but when Insun gave him a scandalized look he started to crack up, amused: “Just kidding, just kidding! But you're prettier than Lady Xiang and I rate myself higher than her husband, so ours should come out better, surely?”

“It's not a contest,” she said, pouting.

“I know, I know,” he said, softer. “Just that... I'll be a husband soon; gods willing, a father! A family of my own... I'm still drunk just on the idea!”

“You'll get used to it,” said Michi from her endless callisthenics. At that moment she was doing alternating one-handed push-ups.

“ _You_ 're telling me having children gets _old?”_ he asked, amused again.

Michi grinned up at him: “Not at all! You just get your wits back... well, most of us do. Eventually.”

“I don't need those to know a stroke of good luck,” said Junjie, sitting beside Insun. He wrapped an arm around her shoulders: “Have I mentioned how glad I am you said yes?”

Insun affected to scour her memory: “Oh... only about seven hundred times.” When the pulled together to kiss, Niyok stopped the raft abruptly, causing Michi to fall onto her hand and the young couple to bump teeth together and clasp their pained mouths. The giant marched past their glares: “You hear that?”

Now they all heard: splashing noises, getting closer quickly.

They had strayed into a relatively narrow channel of still water and there was a shallow bend just ahead – though not shallow enough to see beyond, with mangroves, banyan growths and other trees thick on either edge, sometimes issuing straight from the water.

The noise kept growing louder, then a great white shape burst out of the bend. “Shit!” Niyok shouted, and raised a mound of water that began to push the raft aground and out of the way.

Appa crashed through the raised water head on, sending it explosively ahead and slamming the raft's flank into the shore so hard it climbed halfway out of the water, threw off all the screaming people and deformed, one log snapping loudly. Their bundles of baggage pulled hard at the yards securing them to the mast. Only Insun, holding Tom-Tom one-handed, had jumped up in time and, with the aid of her glider, landed a good twenty yards away on solid ground.

Momo, thrown off his perch at the front of Appa's saddle, recovered in the air and flew up, hissing and mewling his indignation.

 

Three skiffs, each powered by a waterbender standing for'ard and steered by another man at the stern, slid neatly between the raft and the stunned, momentarily-slowed down bison.

They braked hard and tossed weighted nets on him, then threw the nets' lanyards, also heavily weighted, around nearby trees. Appa brayed piteously and struggled mightily but, being exhausted, he couldn't escape.

 

“Gods-fucking-damn it!” Junjie screamed as he tried to extricate himself from the mud; unlike the others he'd been thrown into the shallows.

Michi, who had been thrown against a tree and hugged it, powered through the haze and the blood in her mouth, which she swallowed reflexively, knelt in the mud and helped him pull out and stand up.

“What the fuck is going on?” he gasped.

She slapped him: “Get it together – and mind your language!”

As if on cue, Niyok, who had also tackled a tree but suffered no more than a cut lip and an acute flare-up of crankiness, stormed past, toward where the hunters were preparing Appa for transport, cupped her hands and roared: “OI! You damn near _killed_ us, you stupid _cunts!_ ”

Michi hung back her head, pressed fingers on temples and sighed.

He stammered, trying to clear his eyes, then face, of the worst of the muck. “Is that... the Avatar's bison? And is this the time to care about me swearing?”

“My head hurts, do not compound it.”

“Yeah,” he breathed out.

“I'll deal with Niyok when I'm feeling better – and stop _spinning!_ ”

“...Let's sit you down and get you some clean water, alright?”

She nodded silently.

 

Meanwhile, Niyok had summoned a tentacle of water to slap the closest local, a very lanky fellow taller than her and almost as skinny as Junjie, upside the head, drenching him as well. “Keep ignoring me, you'll get a lot worse,” she snapped.

The man turned around with a dopey-looking grin: “Hey, you're a waterbender, aren't ya? That means we're kin!”

“Then I'll invite you to the reunion,” Niyok growled through her teeth. “What the _fuck_ are you doing?”

He stared blandly at her for a while, then: “We'll come help you guys out but we have to tie up this big fella so he can't move his legs, see? He's pretty dangerous!”

“What's going on?” another hunter asked; he was short and fat, like a smaller Sangok without huge muscles under the fat, a short-cropped mop of hair with with, like all his comrades, a leaf for a hat, stubble and a meaty lower lip. This one had guarded eyes and was not shy about getting cross: “Who are you and why're you cussing at Due?”

The giant took a moment to master herself before answering: “I'm Lan Niyok. You made that bison crash our raft. It belongs to the Avatar.”

That made his eyes as round as his face: “Whoa, wait a minute! We didn't see no people with the bison, we thought he was wild!”

Niyok leaned her head to one side, bent a bridge of jagged ice up to Appa's flank, walked up to and leaned on the saddle on his back, slapping it heavily and sneered: “ _Really._ ”

The fat hunter opened his mouth to yell something, but closed it again with an audible _clamp._ He and his six comrades stared at the saddle as if it had just materialized at Niyok's command.

Momo landed on the saddle near her hand and began to pull and bite at the net, redoubling his imprecations. The giant's hand shot up, grabbed his head and wagged it a few times: “Little critter's also with the Avatar.”

“Okay, then where's the Avatar?” asked the fat boatman. Niyok only gave an exaggerated shrug. “By the way, I'm Tho, this is Due and – what's that?”

Something was rushing toward them at great speed through the dense forest on the raft's side, careless of the noise it was making.

A couple gusts of air, so powerful they were visible with the naked eye, struck two of the hunters, hurling them into the water. Tho turned to his source, starting to bend water, but a long tentacle snapped at him, Due and Niyok out of the forest. It sent him straight into Appa's crupper and thence into the water. Niyok just absorbed the blow and Due jumped over it: “We're under attack!”

Meanwhile, two more air gusts took out the other two normal-sized men.

“Motherfucker,” Niyok snarled, forming small finned shards of compressed ice and hurling them, as fast and deadly as arrows, at the guessed-at source, while ice-surfing away. “Firebenders! Wake up!”

Junjie had sat Michi down; he and the others were attending to her, but when Niyok called he yanked her up and pointed her where Niyok was pointing – and throwing ice darts.

Two figures appeared on a half-collapsed tree trunk emerging from the water not far from Appa and began to struggle with Due over the wave he was pulling up. The firebenders directed a twin torrent of fire at them. Michi's brushed past the crowns of the many trees along the way, igniting them.

San and Youa had each wanted to say something but were left staring in horror at the display of power. The two figures were forced away as their perch disintegrated violently: Aang landed on Appa and Katara on a small ice plate of her own making.

Niyok stopped cold in the act of hurling another of her ice darts: “It's the Avatar! Everyone stand down!”

Aang, holding his glider staff like a weapon, had stopped hurling air at her but was still scowling: “Why are you attacking Appa?” By his side was Katara, water whip at the ready.

“The locals did that,” said Niyok. “Swamp air must've addled their minds. They didn't notice the saddle.”

Katara channelled her brother: “How can you _not_ notice the _saddle?_ ”

“Don't matter now, we didn't hurt the big fella, we can just let him go,” said Due exuberantly. “You're waterbenders too! More kin!”

Katara cringed away from him; Aang began to settle down.

“Wait, what's wrong with our swamp air?” Tho snapped. He was treading water in the middle of the canal, right next to Niyok.

She scowled down at him: “We keep getting visions of people who aren't here. Including the dead.”

Tho's anger melted; he swam up to his skiff, climbed in it quickly and dried himself. “Yeah, it does that to strangers sometimes,” he said quietly.

 

Sokka popped up near Aang and Katara's ledge's burning remains, with an older man in tow. He wore a similar leafy loincloth to the six hunters, but without the wraps on their calves and forearms, necklaces and leaf hats.

“What's going on?” the young warrior asked, club and boomerang at the ready.

“Why is the banyan on fire?” the old man demanded.

“That was me,” said Michi weakly. “I'll put it out.”

“Let me help,” said Junjie.

Michi raised an eyebrow, hesitating, then nodded; they got to work. Everyone looked in wonder and chattered among themselves as the firebenders extended grasping hands toward the burning branches then slowly closed shaking fists – the fires shrank and winked out.

They were quickly done, but Junjie was green in the face, where he wasn't covered in mud. “I want to vomit every time I have to do that,” he said.

Michi gave a strained smile and took his hand – to console or support him, he thought, but she remained still and silent for a few moments. Then she collapsed in a heap, so fast she went neatly under the arm he brought up to catch her.

Katara materialized at once on her other side, _somehow;_ she had to duck back to avoid getting head-butted by Junjie as he swooped down and turned Michi gently face up and called her name.

She moaned inarticulately, eyes glazed and half-closed.

“Why did she collapse like that?” the young waterbender asked, sounding like she had ten years on Junjie, not the other way around.

“She must've hit her head pretty hard earlier,” said Junjie and explained in brief what Appa's flight had done to them.

“But why now? She seemed fine enough – give her some air air!” This for the crowd that had begun to form around Michi. “She seemed fine enough when you two tried to deep-fry Aang and me just now.”

Junjie, who'd retreated with the others, turned ashen. “Oh shit, it's my fault... I should've put out the fires alone! That much is enough to make an intact firebender sick, and she's... she's been injured a whole _lot_ in her life.”

Katara frowned and squinted at that, but decided to go to work at once, massaging Michi's temples with globs of luminescent water, rather than take the bait.

The old man who had arrived with Sokka ended up shoulder to elbow with Due, who turned to ask him: “Hey, Huu, how you been?”

“Oh, you know, slung some vines, scared some folks – the usual. You?”

“Well, you know, out hunting, found some kin instead, one a healer – and the Avatar: _not_ so usual.”

Huu nodded sagely: “Mm.”

Sokka raised an eyebrow: “Wait, _Huu?_ ”

Ten people shushed him down.

Huu looked down: “Will she be alright?”

“More chance of that with each question less,” Katara snapped.


	21. Tom-Tom Opens the Discussion

Katara focused the healing water on Michi's temples; the firebender's balaclava was down but the hair had been passed through its back slit, creating a loose ponytail, disciplined enough to keep it out of the young waterbender's work.

“Cold,” Michi moaned after a brief while, trying to stand up.

Katara tried to keep up with the water, hesitating between that and wanting to hold Michi down. “Hey, settle down!”

“How long – how long was I out?”

“A few seconds, not much,” said Junjie.

“Oh, good, that means... I shouldn't become a paralytic or... or a simpleton,” said Michi, as Niyok helped her stand up and Katara gave up and bent the water back into her hip goatskin. As soon as she was up the firebender looked around dizzily: “Insun, San, Youa, come here! Are you intact?”

“Just some mud, ma'am,” said Youa.

“And maybe bruises,” said San.

Michi saw how terrified they were even through her concussion's haze. She put on a brittle smile: “Still think I'm paying you too much?”

They burst into chuckles at that; Tom-Tom, who was waking up, laughed along. Michi reached for him automatically, but wrongly, so Insun withheld him: “Ma'am, I don't think you should be holding a baby right now.”

Michi gave a small nod: “Fair enough,” and gave the baby a finger to grab. “Mama,” he said, upon taking it. His mother paid no heed; he'd been known to babble short syllables, usually doubled, for a while, including 'Mama,' regardless of who was with him. Then he pointed with his other hand and said, “Michi! Mama!”

Insun's and Michi's eyebrows climbed halfway up to their hairlines.

The airbender recovered quicker: “Say again?”

“Michi, mama!” the baby repeated, still clearly pointing at his mother.

“Bravo, bravo, my darling boy, you spoke – you actually spoke!” Michi shouted back, the dizziness now only apparent in the slurred enunciation, and stooped over him for three big kisses that made him laugh happily.

Insun began to melt. “Gods how cute can he get I know it's dangerous for him but I'm so incredibly glad we have a baby with us!” she piped at thrice her normal talking speed.

“Now now, are you trying to upstage him?” Michi asked playfully, then straightened up and steadied herself, hand to temple: “Alright... we've established I am Michi, Mama-”

“Michi! Mama!” Tom-Tom repeated loudly, grabbing upward at her elbow.

“... But who's this? Look! Look at her.” She pointed at Insun: “Who is this? Can you say her name?”

Tom-Tom hesitated, made a few inarticulate, short noises, then proclaimed proudly: “I – Insun! Insun!”

 

Niyok watched in wary amusement as Michi and Insun praised the baby's intelligence and cooed over him with no end in sight. After a few moments she tore her eyes away and toward Junjie, Youa and San, who were also captured by the moment, with the same rapt smiles and big, wet eyes. Then she heard, from the other side: “Aaaaw, he's _adorable!_ ”

It was Katara, starting toward the baby, starry-eyed. The giant worked her jaw and looked askance, but let them by. She saw Aang playing with his bison and lemur, then her gaze met Sokka's. He shrugged: “What can you do?”

“Indeed,” she growled, then turned to Huu, who was behind him: “Sir, you the chief here?”

“Oh, we don't have a chief,” said Huu. “Folks will often listen to me, but I think that's just 'cause I'm old.”

“Happens sometimes,” said Niyok. “So then, I'd like a couple favours, please.”

“Hey, we'd be glad to help, 'specially fellow waterbenders,” said Due.

“I'd like a place for the six of us plus the baby to crash for the night, and a couple boats to get south of the swamp. We can pay in gold Yuan.”

“Oh, that's alright, we don't need any gold,” said Due. “After all, we made that big fellow break your raft!”

Tho glared crossly at his friend, then Niyok: “Well it _was_ a pretty weak raft.”

Niyok shrugged: “We built it in two hours.”

Tho stared suspiciously in Niyok's expressionless face for a while, then in wonder when he couldn't convince himself she was lying. He cleared his throat: “Alright, let's go try to wake up those baby-addled saps.”

 

That took quite some doing, but finally all the people and supplies were loaded on Appa and the three skiffs, along with the raft's mast and lateen sail, which Insun had made and now Niyok brought to the village as a gift for the Foggy Swamp Tribe's lone airbender, a weedy man in his thirties, who appreciated it a great deal until the moment he spotted Tom-Tom, who was now waddling, hand in hand with his slow, still dizzy mother.

His wife and children, who like him were good-natured even by the tribe's standards, joined him in a renewed round of fawning over Tom-Tom, who basked in the attention, while the various other members of her expedition took turns getting thoroughly bathed and dried by Niyok, clothes and all.

 

Displeased at being in the assassin's company once again and still smarting from the swamp-vision of her mother, Katara kept a close, frowning eye on Michi throughout the evening, but the latter could have taught lessons in good manners anywhere in the world and, after feeding Tom-Tom and leaving him to play with the non-Avatar airbenders, went about being a perfect guest with as much aplomb as her condition allowed.

Michi never once talked down to her hosts, instead praising the health benefits of their simplified lifestyle, their huts' quick-exit-allowing back doors, the food, which tended to be insects, with the fish generally given to the many and eclectic large, carnivorous pets.

She even admonished Sokka when he called them “a bunch of greasy people living in a swamp” and dismissed the visions as products of hunger, without which he wouldn't be eating his giant wasp. For all his protestations that the swamp was mundane, the visions, the tornado (which neither Huu nor the airbender could have made) and the moving vines defied any such explanation – except his dismissal of Aang's use of the swamp's omnipresent banyan grove to find Appa and Momo as “Avatar stuff,” which stood firmly.

The closest she got to criticizing them was for their flat reactions to learning that there were other waterbending communities at the North and South Poles and the new Fuhe-Sida kingdom, which she would only localize as “somewhere up north.”

“Wait,” Hue asked her, “you've gathered people who bend all the elements on purpose? We had no idea Yu would be an airbender when he was born. That's great! The Avatar should feel right at home.”

Michi's smile cracked visibly for a brief moment, but she recovered it: “I'm sure he will... get the chance to find out,” she said, “once we at least have buildings to house our guests in and stable food sources to feed them. We have many thousands of our own people to feed and house, and the climate is if anything more akin to the Poles' icy desolation than this rich, fecund area.”

“Why'd you want to set up in such a place, then?” asked Tho.

“Defence is a major reason,” said Michi. “Mineral resources is another. We are, after all, at war not only with every pirate in the world, but with the Fire Nation.”

“Isn't that where you come from?” asked Due sympathetically. “Must be hard, fighting your own kin.”

Michi abandoned smiling altogether: “Extremely so, but we have a saying by our king (or he discovered, I forget which): 'The blood of the covenant is thicker than the water of the womb'. I don't exactly agree when it comes to _my_ womb, but... well, since you brought up the war...” and she spoke at some length about it, and encouraged her hosts to join in, citing the benefits: averting a “quite likely” first strike by the Fire Nation in the little time it had left as a viable-seeming aggressor, the chance to gain allies or trade partners and prizes of war, concessions in the peace treaty to come and prestige.

The tribespeople around the open-air fire listened politely; some others even stopped from their goings-on, but when Michi was done Tho asked at once: “That's all good and fine, but how can it hold up against some of our folk getting killed?”

Michi shrugged: “Nothing ventured, nothing gained. Usually a tribe's place under the sun – or the banyan grove's canopy, as the case may be – must be paid for with the blood of some of its best members, every generation.”

“Wait, won't there be peace once I defeat the Firelord?” asked Aang. “I mean, the war is basically Fire Nation against everyone else; once that stops, I should be able to restore peace and balance to the world, like in the past.”

Michi shook her head: “Alright, from the top: No, killing Ozai should definitely be done, but it will not create world peace even if the Fire Nation surrenders.”

“Wait, I never said anything about killing!”

“No, that was me. Defeating Ozai without killing him is an extra layer of complication we can well do without. Nobody is asking _you_ to do it.”

“Yes they are! Everywhere I go everyone is looking up to me as the best hope against the Firelord and his armies!”

“Alas, there are too many irresponsible cowards in the world capable of hiding behind a child, but that doesn't mean you should _listen_ to them!” She tried for a reassuring smile: “Don't worry about Ozai. He will be taken care of.”

“But when? Roku told me Sozin's comet is coming back... about half a year from now-”

“And when that happens, the firebenders of the Fuhe-Sida Kingdom will be well-placed to turn the entire Fire Nation military into smoke and ash if nothing else will serve.” She smirked: “But the enemy has to get through the Day of Black Sun _first._ ”

“What's that?” asked Aang.

Sokka leaned in: “The what, now?”

“Any day when a total solar eclipse covers the Caldera – the Fire Nation capital – is dubbed a Day of Black Sun. They're very rare and the last one was a _calamity;_ the next one will be this year, on the first day of the eighth month, and it will cover Omashu as well.”

“And firebenders can't bend during a solar eclipse!” Sokka shouted excitedly. “That's why you're asking people to join the war, you want to invade them when they're all helpless!”

“Well, I wouldn't say _helpless,_ but yes.”

“Then why aren't you going straight to the Earth King? I mean, he's the ruler of those towns you were sent to, right?”

“The political situation is... difficult,” said Michi, lifting hand to temple. “Sorry, but I'd rather not go into it now, with my brain all rattled.” Youa immediately appeared over her shoulder, offering tea, with a mug already filled for Michi, who took it with both hands: “Thank you.”

“You're welcome, ma'am. Anyway, Mr. Avatar-”

The young airbender held out his cup for tea: “Thanks; Aang is fine.”

“Uh, Aang, Lady Lan told me to inform you that you probably won't find any good earthbending teachers in Chin, but if you like, you can come with her to Gao Ling – that's where the good earthbending is taught[1].”

“That sounds great, but I don't think Appa can carry that many people over long distances.”

Michi scowled at Niyok's back, then turned to Youa: “She said all that?”

Youa was pouring for Katara: “...Not in so many words, ma'am.”

“Heh, I imagine not. Anyway, we should just get to Chin and there determine who goes where and how.”

Not even Katara could raise an objection to that in the moment; the dinner went on in silence and small talk from there.

 

Later in the night, when everyone else but the guards at the village's edges was fast asleep, Katara woke up Sokka and Aang, through the teeth of their opposition.

“The more time I spend with Michi and her people the less I like them,” she said when they were well awake and Sokka had finished his ritual whinging. “Shouldn't we get away from them? I don't think they will mind, they did the same to us.”

“I don't know,” said Aang. “They can help me find a good earthbending teacher – and they're elitists, they'd never recommend someone unless he or she was _very_ good.”

“We did fine by ourselves so far,” said Katara – weakly, for she was remembering the whole Jeong Jeong debacle. Then she fought it down and went on with much more conviction: “Anyway, Insun, San and Youa are kind of okay but they hang on Michi's words and she can't go one conversation without talking about the murders and massacres she'll _'have'_ to commit, the big one is just as bad and Insun's boyfriend only cares about her, money and the war!”

“Well, she might not be loyal to the Fire Nation but she grew up there and it definitely shows,” said Sokka. “It's Niyok, the other girls the Council was complaining about and that Sangok fellow I don't get; I mean sure, it can be frustrating to be a girl in the Northern Water Tribe but taking up with a bunch of firebenders seems a little... extreme?”

“Who knows what she poisoned their minds with,” said Katara; “she _does_ talk up a storm.”

“Most of it is really hard to ignore,” said Aang.

“That's sort of the point, Aang,” Sokka pointed out. “Nobody's calling her _stupid._ Even I'm really wondering if that Day of Black Sun business is true.”

“It is,” said Aang. “At least the part where the last Day of Black Sun was horrible. It happened about ninety years before I visited there. Kuzon called it the Fire Nation's worst day ever. If Michi wants to use it to attack the Fire Nation the next one is probably for real too. She wouldn't make a mistake about something like that and there's no reason to lie.”

“This is bad,” said Katara hotly. “If they really manage to stop the Fire Nation, it will just be one warlord taking down another! I'm sorry, Aang, but if things go on like this you'll just end up facing a different enemy when you master the Four Elements and grow up – one that can also use all of them.” After what had been said over dinner she didn't want a row over being more explicit about Avatar's responsibilities.

“Let's hope it doesn't come to that,” said Aang firmly. “Sorry right back, but you're just making me want to stick closer to Michi. I don't think anyone's ever told her that she can't just solve every problem with violence. I know, I know, it's a long shot, but _someone_ has to try. I don't need another enemy. The _world_ doesn't need another enemy.” Then he brightened up, as he did: “Besides, we pulled through tougher stuff than this, right?”

“If nothing else, we'll be able to keep an eye on her, and her pals,” said Sokka. “Besides, nobody's trying to hold us prisoner; we can split from them whenever we want – and we'd be taking _Appa_ with us.”

“That's right! If they take to riding on Appa they won't want to go back travelling slower.”

Sokka smirked, but turned it into an indulgent smile. He'd been fishing for Aang's optimism on purpose, after all.

“...Alright,” said Katara after a long, pouty hesitation. “I suppose there's something to be said for trying to keep a lid on them. Let's get back to sleep.”

“Gee, thanks,” said Sokka acidly, but his sister ignored it. She went to sleep trying to convince herself that Michi and her cohorts could be reasoned with.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 1: Well, not counting the Dai Li, but they seem like a pretty closed group.
> 
> Later note: Added a quip for Michi on the "water of the womb" expression, to keep her in character.


	22. Back to the Usual Tricks

With the plans all in place, Tom-Tom dominated most of the conversation on the quick way west, in two skiffs, one powered by Due and steered by Tho, the other, by Niyok and Insun. Appa followed unburdened except by the saddle.

After consulting quickly, the four navigators had agreed to exit the swamp out of its main estuary and follow the shore, stopping for supplies and news of Fuhe-Sida ships at a fishing village at dusk after the first day.

One full day and morning either, they had made it all the way through a gulf that cut halfway into the peninsula ruled by the town of Chin.

Everyone disembarked, thanked Tho and Due, then left them with a couple of new crossbows as gifts, along with brief lessons in their use, bolts and food and water for the journey back.

 

Appa now had to take up a good three times his previous load, with Insun flying under her own power and Niyok and the firebenders running cross-country. They had to pass between two small mountains; the trail itself didn't climb too much, but the way was long and at dusk Michi and Aang agreed to camp while still deep in the craggy ground and woods, a good three hours' walk away from the walls of Chin.

 

Though they kept guard, the night went by without incident[1] and Michi, who had last watch, called reveille just before dawn and began to warm up energetically.

“Back in the game?” Niyok asked.

“I should be,” said Michi. “At least I can perform my usual calisthenics.”

“Brilliant. Morning, Lee. So, you two up for a spar?”

The firebenders traded looks. “Very well,” said Michi, with a firm nod. “Let's show these children how it's done!”

“Sure, why not,” said Junjie. “Morning, by the way.”

Michi turned to the others: “Oh, live a little, you guys! There's time for the chores, but you won't get a show like this every day.”

“Oh, I think _I_ will,” said Insun, absorbed by the sight to Michi's left; she was all but drooling. It fell to the other four to inveigle Tom-Tom into their midst.

When Michi turned that way, she saw that Junjie had quickly stripped to his loincloth and Niyok, to her own and the complex wrap that fixed her breasts in place. They were both warming up: him, with the same sort of sharp, crisp movements Michi had used; Niyok's, as befit a waterbender, evoked the ocean's waves as each segued into the next.

“ _Guys_ , I said show, not spectacle,” said Michi. “Do you have to strip every time we do this? Especially you, Niyok; this is no way for a queen to behave!”

“I will decide what is and what ain't that,” Niyok said vehemently, but not in the rough, threatening tone she normally used to disagree with people. “You want to damage your clothes, go right ahead.”

 

Katara ogled along with Insun, but in morbid fascination, not lust. She had not imagined Niyok would stay quite so huge without the loose kimono – but there she was, with a waist thicker than the Southern waterbender's own chest, though still somewhat narrow between the hips and a barrel of a chest, each of which could easily admit Aang whole. When she moved, great slabs of muscle shifted the skin and thin layer of fat above them in fast but dignified movements.

Junjie was a huge contrast: rail-thin, ribs and collarbones sticking out, he was easily lighter than Michi despite being half a head taller and having broad shoulders with lats almost like the flaps of a flying squirrel underneath. His muscles were very defined, right under the skin, dancing under it as he warmed up; unlike Niyok who showed only a few blood vessels he was marmorated with them all over.

“We're going full contact, everything goes; I need to know if you can still take a beating,” Niyok said after a bit of this.

Michi grinned: “I can give one just fine.”

“We'll see. Bending?”

“Sure,” said Junjie.

“Of course,” said Michi.

Niyok grinned: “Good, good,” and pulled the water out of her very large goatskin, which shuffled her clothes. The glob she held up was twice the size of her (appropriately massive) head. She settled into a wide stance, stretching the water into a thick whip. Junjie took up an aggressive guard and Michi another, bouncing on the tips of her feet. “Come on,” called the giant.

The two firebenders attacked with the expected speed and ferocity, going through sharp katas that unleashed a rain of fire-blasts, flicks, gusts and even a couple of whips at Niyok, some of them powerful enough to kill. The giant passed herself and the water smoothly through the inevitable gaps, though her opponents kept her in the middle of their torrent without fail and tried to close the distance, to take away her time to react.

The onlookers were having trouble keeping up with the movements but Niyok let Michi and Junjie come in, soon managing to integrate waterbending forms in her dodging that sent narrow lines of water at the firebenders.

The first few whiffed, but put some caution in their onslaught; this eased the pressure and Niyok sent three more in less than half a second, one each almost poking their left eyes and the last striking Junjie's wrist hard. He yelped and pulled it back, bleeding welt and all. Niyok went for a sweep at his legs but Michi, roaring, fired off a massive blast off-centre, so that Niyok was forced to dodge away from Junjie, pulling back the water.

Michi then quickly charged up and launched lightning, which Niyok had to dodge the other way; having missed, it arced down and blew large chunks out of the turf. But Niyok had moved straight into Junjie's own fire-blast. She braced herself and face-checked it, taking a half-step back; but she leaned into his follow-up roundhouse kick, caught it forehead first[2] and sent his leg spinning right back and down, almost into Michi's, stopping her own charge.

The assassin threw a perfunctory fire-blast to get back initiative but Niyok swatted it away by hand with an odd down-and-up swing that also sent all of her water out at Junjie's midsection; then when he brought his guard low, slapped his shoulder, sending him careening into Michi.

 

“Wow, they're really going at it,” said Sokka.

“Wait, are they sparring or fighting for real?” Youa asked.

“Both at once,” said Insun, worried. “They won't exactly kill each other on _purpose,_ but careless people _have_ died doing this. Oooh, why did Junjie agree to this? He can handle himself but he's no warrior!”

“They're much better than Zhao, or even Zuko,” said Aang. “Much better control.” Apart from Michi's lightning and a lot of trampled grass the fight was doing no damage to the environs.

“Better or not they have some guts to go full contact with that _thing,”_ said Sokka.

 

The off-balance firebenders quickly steadied themselves and each other, giving up a couple of paces; Niyok closed back, sending fist-sized and shaped water at their faces. Junjie caught his pretty badly, staggering back, but Michi mostly slipped hers and came in for a sweeping fire-kick at the giant's inner thigh.

It was so strong it shoved Niyok's knee outwards a good half a foot and sizzled her, complete with noise and smell, but she shoved it back almost at once and slapped Michi hard across the face, causing her to gasp and take a knee. Junjie rushed in just in time to catch a rather strong kick into the giant's groin.

Niyok's only reactions were a flushing and setting of the face and a close-mouthed growl that _might_ have been pain. Then when Junjie tried to dart around to put the giant directly between himself and Michi, she skipped back and roundhouse-kicked at his head, forcing him to retreat back toward the assassin. “Lazy bums,” she called, “that Katara girl put up a better fight than the pair of you!”

The firebenders renewed their charge at that, but Niyok's lunge kick caught Junjie right on the mark[3] and sent him back flying; he collapsed and gasped for air as Michi attacked with redoubled fury, and fists, knees, feet and lots of fire. Niyok tried to dodge everything at first and attack with water at the same time, but for a while Michi was too fast, squeezing a couple low blows through while sliding under the flowing, long tentacle trying alternatively to snatch or slap her.

Niyok slipped what was coming her way nicely until Michi managed to stagger her with a hard chop across the neck; the giant's counter-punch, aimed at the mark, only caught the stomach, but it still doubled her over; at once the assassin was trapped in a standing guillotine choke.

Michi made one last frantic attempt to free herself, but failed; the choke was making her feel light-headed, so she tapped rapidly on Niyok's arm. The giant released her, relaxed and turned toward Junjie: “Not bad. Help him out.”

The firebender nodded, rushed to his side, turned him gently on his back and massaged him with dragon fire until he shook his head and stood up. Insun, seeing that the fight was over, glanced over her shoulder to make sure Tom-Tom was secured and cleared the distance to Junjie in one leap.

She seized him by the head: “Dear gods and spirits! Will you be alright?”

“I think so,” he said shakily.

“And why would you go full contact with _Niyok?_ ”

“I have... no idea!”

Niyok broke into a grin: “Did alright, though!”

“Yes, just about anybody else would be a smoking husk after what we threw at her,” said Michi. “Now will the two of you get _dressed?_ ”

Insun used wind to pull Niyok and Junjie's clothes to them: “Speaking of that, will you change into the robes to enter town?”

“No, they'll know me better this way,” said Michi, then turned sharply to the sound of Katara arguing with her brother as they approached.

“...you _know_ how hard Niyok hits,” he was saying. “You'd probably go up against her again 'cause you're, well, _you,_ but _normal_ people aren't supposed to have the guts to take on the Unagi's _slightly_ smaller cousin.”

Niyok grinned wider: “Shorter, at least!”

“Oh, I'm sure it takes a _lot_ of guts to go two on one and still get tossed around like rags,” Katara said snippily.

“You didn't know what I can do,” Niyok snapped, back to her usual style of roughness. “They do.”

“Oh, don't mind her,” said Insun, leaning into Junjie's side nonchalantly. “Someone like her, occupied all her waking hours with surviving in bad conditions while learning to be a master waterbender in a tiny fraction of the normal time, won't have any left to learn social niceties.”

There was a heavy silence; everyone stared at Insun as if she'd sprouted a second head. Junjie began to beam with pride. “One point for you,” he told her.

Katara was scowling, but before she could open her mouth, Michi's voice cracked like a whip: _“Enough._ We've had enough childish nonsense in this group, not least of all from myself. Let us remember _we're at war_ , get back to work and find our way to Chin, already!”

Youa and San turned around to start pottering about the camp, Tom-Tom in tow, but everyone else stood stiffly still.

“Yeah, let's get cracking,” Niyok boomed excitedly over everyone, just as more arguing was about to ensue. She had put on the Kyoshi kimono in haste and it hung on her gracelessly. Holding a hardy ankle boot with a white sock in it, the giant then looked down, bobbing her head this way and that: “Where's my _damn_ left boot?”

“Oh, sorry,” said Insun, embarrassed, and caused the offending item to fly into Niyok's view.

Very soon, the group sat to a tense breakfast; Katara, after a private calming speech from Aang, tried to one-up Michi and Insun's highly fastidious and graceful table manners. She pretty much matched them, with the result that all three of them had barely nibbled away a third of their portions of wheat buns, sausage and cold salad by the time everyone else was finished and Youa served the tea. Perforce, the three set aside the bowls – right under Sokka's, Niyok's and Junjie's grasping hands, respectively. Not one scrap of food went to waste.

Michi seemed to take Katara's performance for granted. She simply thanked her servants for the meal and recommended walking into Chin, to spare Appa as much as possible; he only had to carry the baggage. Aang agreed, and immediately took to walking right beside the flying bison's head, with Momo on his shoulder and his human friends on the other side. This put them behind Michi's group, except Niyok, who strayed some distance behind as the rearguard. The giant had arranged her clothes properly and took to wearing her goatskin in Katara's manner, slung on the back with the muzzle directly above the left hip.

After a while of the two groups walking and conversing internally in hushed tones, Insun deliberately fell behind until she was shoulder to shoulder with Katara, drawing a frown.

“I'm very sorry I sniped at you earlier,” she said, hanging her head. “I don't know what came over me; it's not like Junjie or Lady Xiang need my protection.” Katara felt her head-throbbing anger wind down in her own despite. It seemed impossible to stay mad at cute little Insun (even to Katara, who was about her size) and her demure, cutesy voice. “By the way, the Lady and I are both impressed with how you carried yourself at breakfast – then again, you _are_ a princess.”

The young waterbender did a double take at that: “A what, now?” she asked, in chorus with Aang and Sokka.

“Well you're the daughter of Hakoda, one of the Southern Water Tribes' most important chiefs – what you guys call your kings, I take it. Uh, is chief his correct title?”

“Yeah, but nobody called me a princess before,” Katara said, taken aback and unsure between feeling flattered and suspicious.

“Besides, if we came down on the others in the village with princely airs they'd just laugh us out of the igloo,” said Sokka.

“And rightly so,” said Katara quickly, trying to hide her embarrassment.

“As you say,” said Insun, shrugging. “Lady Xiang made sure I was equipped to fend off the brainwashing but I still grew up and went to school in the Fire Nation – _Azulon's_ Fire Nation.”

Sokka's ears visibly perked up: “That's Ozai's dad, right? Did you know him?”

“Lady Xiang did, extensively,” said Insun. “The son is the father's image, less the leadership qualities and most of the restraint, according to her. Also, Ozai can perform feats of firebending only seen before in Avatars and under Sozin's Comet.” She noted their worried looks and smiled brightly: “But don't let that worry you: he's, to quote the Lady, 'a cowardly, unhinged scoundrel', and there are people who have him beat easily – you two probably among them.” This last was obviously for Katara and Aang, who both hung their heads in doubt.

“I don't know,” the boy-Avatar said. “Roku told me I had to master all four elements before I could face the Firelord.”

“Of course, I'm no expert in these matters,” said Insun, shrugging.

“But I am,” said Michi, who had fallen back too, leaving Junjie on point to lead San, Youa and Tom-Tom, who alternated between walking under his own power and being carried by the skinny firebender. “Of course, Avatar Roku gave you that counsel under the expectation that you would be forced to attack Ozai in the Royal Palace openly and by yourself, where he would have the aid of the Imperial Procession. Again, don't worry about it; Ozai only lives on our sufferance. You see, we don't want a more competent replacement on his throne.”

“But a more competent replacement might make peace!” said Aang excitedly. “I mean, isn't anyone in the Fire Nation _tired_ of this war already?”

Michi stood rooted in place, staring wide-eyed at him. Insun took her by the hand to induce her to keep up, which she did, halting at first, then picking up the pace to regain the lead. “We've dismissed the idea of a friendly Fire Lord long ago,” she said after a while, “but that was then and this is now.” She gave Aang a big smile as she passed ahead: “Thank you for the reminder!”

“You're welcome; I'm glad to help,” said Aang earnestly. Then, “Who do you have in mind?”

“General Iroh is the best choice by a dozen Li,” said Michi. “I was told you spared his life in the North, along with Prince Zuko. The General will have been declared a traitor for his actions there, putting him on the run.”

“Oh, the old guy who beat up Zhao's guard and chased him off when he killed Tui? I remember him,” said Aang.

“He seemed to be making sense,” said Katara.

Sokka snorted in derision and doubt: “Just another Fire Nation royal,” he said. “Even if he wasn't crazy enough to go along with Zhao, isn't he Ozai's older brother? I don't trust anyone in that power-mad family and I don't think anyone should, even other firebenders.”

Michi glared angrily at him for a moment, then calmed down: “I guess that's fair, not knowing him, but you never know what you'll miss if you don't give someone a chance. The General seems to dislike me a lot; that should score him some points with you.” She picked up her pace to regain the lead.

“But you like him, don't you?” Aang asked at her back.

“Oh, I suppose,” she answered airily, with a shrug.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 1: Aang, Michi and Co. are approaching Chin from a different direction; the encounter with the Rough Rhinos outside of town is butterflied away.
> 
> 2: Check out George Chuvalo's career (the 1937 born retired boxer famous for never being knocked off his feet). I didn't inspire Niyok on him, physically (she's taller), but I might as well have.
> 
> 3: (Archaic) The solar plexus. At least the term was used in the days of bare-knuckle boxing.


	23. Finally, a town!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A big chapter for a big delay. I got caught up in assorted nonsense, between gaming and an ear infection. Should be sorted now. Damn all distractions.
> 
> Later edit: Added a bit at the beginning to cover a minor plot hole.

The first human presence they met was along the main Northern trade road from Chin, which was just a track of packed, grassless dirt. Aang immediately told Appa and Momo go back and hide in the trees.

A young-looking man, big and husky, was outside his solitary house, which stood out in front of a row of trees. He opened its front as a grocery store, calling for the travellers as they approached the road.

“There's a fence and open fields behind those trees,” said Niyok quietly.

The farmer's eyes crinkled when he saw Michi: “Dressing up as The Shadow, Miss? We don't dress up for the festival, but it'd be _fun_ if we did.”

He didn't remark on Aang; though he was still wearing his Air Nomad robes he had a large conical straw hat and handwraps[1], so his tattoos weren't visible.

“Good morning, good sir; we don't actually-” She cut off, seeing Katara and Sokka inspect the wares – fresh-looking vegetables of several kinds. Then the assassin raised a finger: “Well, it's _ma'am,_ and what is The Shadow?”

“What, you don't know? We were invaded by a large pirate fleet about eight years ago; they just took stuff at will and killed anyone who resisted. That very evening, another fleet came up, massacred all the pirates without warning, bought – _bought_ – a lot of supplies, and left! The Shadow was their leader, a rogue firebender who dressed like you. She killed a lot of pirates with lightning and fire – a regular heroine!”

Michi blushed: “Wow – I've... never been called that before!”

The farmer's eyes widened as he began to arrange Katara's purchases in a basket: “Pardon me?”

Niyok elbowed Michi's shoulder, grinning: “Sure you have.”

“When you weren't there,” said Insun.

“Wait, The Shadow was a firebender,” said the man, looking up from his work. “She could even create lightning!”

Michi wasted no time in doing just that. The arc flashed for the briefest time, a thin line of brilliant bluish white with shallow, jagged crooks, leaving a large scorch mark upon the road in front of her and a puff of smoke. She immediately marched up to the mark and rubbed it out with her foot.

“Wow, this is great! The Shadow is back and-” his smile fell: “And, oh Great Chin no, is there another pirate fleet, or something like that?”

“Not that I know of. By the way, I am _not_ a rogue firebender, the Fire Nation's firebenders are the rogues!”

“Ha-ha! Well, I hope you aren't being followed by any of those!”

“Indeed,” said Michi, thinking of Azula.

The farmer put the full basket in front of Sokka: “Anyway, here's your produce, Boomerang Guy! Half price, for friends of The Shadow.”

“Oh no,” said Katara, “we're just travelling together for a bit,” and handed the farmer the full agreed-on price, a couple of silver Yuan. Hers had blue glazing on their edges, with details picked out in a later shade.

The farmer had stepped outside to receive the money; he had intended to protest, but just marvelled at the coins and took them both: “Hey, Water Tribe money!”

“I hope that's okay,” said Katara.

“As long as it's money,” the man said brightly, then closed his stall and started toward the town: “Should be a great Avatar Day, with The Shadow herself paying us a visit. Have a good one!”

“Avatar Day?” Aang, Michi and Junjie asked in one voice.

“You guys are here for the festival, right? Don't be late!” And with a final wave of his hand he set off toward the town.

Aang, Katara and Sokka grinned at each other and the first two hurried after him, while Aang rushed back to leave the groceries with Appa, using his extra-fast airbender run. Michi and Junjie shrugged at each other, then followed, with their group.

 

Chin was a circular town, almost all its several thousand souls wrapped in the centuries-old walls that had been built around far less people. To accommodate this, the town was almost wholly filled with new, tightly packed and tall buildings, but the main thoroughfare was still wide, growing into an impressive round plaza at the middle.

It linked the main, northern gate with a shrine with statue of the town's namesake founder, which lay just outside the town, at the edge of a very tall and sheer seafront. Looking that way, Niyok could see the tops of three large indefinable things being prepared there.

The entire town had been prepared and decorated for celebration; there were garlands everywhere, some with tiny coloured lanterns; every building with a front to the main street had stalls or stages with music, acrobatics, souvenirs, edible goodies, wines, the occasional beer, puppet shows, even outright theatre.

As expected, the main thoroughfare and plaza were well-dotted with crowds of people, so Michi picked Tom-Tom up and held him firmly. The multitude was at least nine in ten locals, going by the almost militarily uniform light green robes of silk they wore, along with the drab rags of the poor.

Here and there, a local would recognize Michi and give her the warmest of welcomes, cooing over Tom-Tom and showering him in well-wishes; an ageing mother, who seemed unsurprised to even find her there, even hugged her and kissed both her cheeks.

She trailed an embarrassed son, as tall as Niyok, but skinny and not that close to manhood. Michi remembered carrying around a young child, half as tall and looking completely different, for a while during the latter part of the battle.

“... Anyway, my name is Sun Zhurong” – Michi gave her name in return and introduced Tom-Tom – “Oh, there's someone here who claims you'll want to talk to him,” said the mother. “A scary, stooped man with a big fancy staff who called himself Wu Rui. Do you know him?”

“If it is him, yes. Could you fetch him here, please? We have rowdy youths with us, we don't want them to slip away from supervision.”

“Oh, I know all about that, ma'am,” Zhurong grinned and moved off.

Aang, Sokka and Katara were chatting among themselves next to a food stall; they didn't hear how she described them and didn't seem to care whether Michi's group stuck around or peeled off.

 

Zhurong and her son returned to the public house where Wu Rui was waiting. The owner had set small, round tables outside, each with four chairs; these were all but filled up to capacity.

Only Wu Rui was alone at his, back to the wall, staff near at hand, big khukri on the table, along with a bottle of rice wine and the traditional white porcelain saucer to drink it from.

He'd grown a thin moustache, disciplined his hair and wore a light silk man's suit, died in top quality jet black, to match the black leather of the khukri's sheath and the heavy leather collar he used to keep his neck straight, except the edges, the sheath's sewing, the shirt's frog buttons and an embroidered, fist-sized symbol of airbending on the left of his chest, which were white.

When Zhurong passed along Michi's words, he nodded curtly, sheathed the knife and gave her a silver Yuan, leaving another on the table: “Sit down and drink the wine, if you like,” he said, then threw his staff like a javelin.

It unfolded into a great black glider like a demonic bat; he jumped on the table and from there onto it, balancing neatly on the square blackwood and steering it with upper body airbending.

The “flying monster” caused an initial scare, then many impressed gasps after enough people got glimpses of the man riding it, as most of the crowd looked up and turned their heads, mesmerized, following his swirls, figure-eights and deliberate close calls with buildings and garlands.

Tom-Tom was laughing excitedly, trying to grasp the big black flyer out of the sky, but his mother was frowning: “What's gotten into _him?_ ”

Having spotted her, Wu Rui lowered his flight to a skim right off the ground and used his art to fold his glider and cause it to spin back into his waiting hand as landed, so lightly that he didn't bend his knees at all.

After a few moments of silence the crowd began to cheer and whistle; the airbending master smiled smugly and bowed to a right angle, once for all four directions; he discreetly used a blast of air against the road to right himself every time.

“You're too kind, you're too kind,” he said then in his sea captain's most sonorous voice. “Any airbenders in the crowd? Come, don't be shy, the Fire Nation can't get to you here – and never again, if you apply yourself! I, Wu Rui, first master airbender in a century, am looking for students to start an academy! Grow stronger, healthier, soar to the skies with your very own glider, clear any obstacle, ease your everyday life in a thousand ways, impress everyone around you with feats of skill, fend off most foes, escape any crowd and,” he grinned wolfishly, “even _kill_ with nothing but air!” Silence. Awkward silence. “Come on, don't be shy: those who help me set up will never have to pay a bent copper!”

 

The speech touched Aang like white-hot iron, but before he could do more than take a step and open his mouth Insun was on him, hugging him tightly from behind: “Please ignore him; I'm sure you know more than enough air-”

“That's not it,” snapped Aang, trying to break free, but without the use of his powers, let alone any violence. “The Air Nomads developed airbending as a peaceful art, he's making it sound like some sort of killing tool!”

“Oh no, no,” said Insun, aghast. “This is the wrong time to make a scene! If you want, you can talk about it later, in private.”

Aang relaxed: “I guess. At least nobody's joining him.”

 

“And if you fear the Fire Nation's violent attentions, have no such fear,” Wu went on. “Where I'm going, the authorities would make short work of any attack before I even learn about it! My good friend Xiang Michi, master firebender, whom you know as The Shadow, can back up everything I just said!”

He gestured to her; perforce, Michi hid her vexation and stepped into the empty circle, smiling brightly and raising a triumphant fist.

She too was cheered wildly, along with many shouted comments to the cumulated effects that 'if it's possible for firebenders to be good, honest people, even heroes like The Shadow, those Fire Nation criminals really have no excuse' and 'spirits bless her little boy with fortune, health and less interesting times'.

When she was next to him, she discreetly breathed enough heat onto his shoulder to cause a brief unpleasant feeling and asked, under her breath: “What happened to discretion?”

“Sangok's started blowing up the Fire Nation's conquests,” he mumbled back. “They're barely even putting up a fight. No point in hiding anymore.”

“Fair enough,” she answered, then loudly: “Everything Master Wu just said is true! Remember the ships and warriors I came here with eight years ago? Well, they were part of a greater fleet, which has grown to where we've put down roots as an independent kingdom, and together with our many friends and allies we're taking the war back to the Fire Nation!

“You, the good people of Chin, have seen with your own eyes what we are capable of – and that was eight years ago, so I have no doubt you'll believe me when I say _nothing can save them now!_ ”

She got a noticeably weaker smattering of cheers for that.

A man in unique grass-green robes, with an Earth Kingdom mandarin's hat, stepped through the crowd. He was flabby with a visible stomach but no real bulk, with a weak chin, narrow, shrewd eyes, somewhat wild eyebrows and sideburns and a long, thin moustache that curled at the ends. He wore an oily smile and held out his hands as if to embrace Wu and Michi.

“We're all very happy to have two such esteemed fighting masters here for our Avatar Day festival!” he said, trying and failing to emulate their powerful diction with his shrill voice, though it carried well enough. “Your timing couldn't have been better – then again, all great warriors are known for impeccable timing. Why, our founder, Chin the Great, was famous for it above all else, which is how he won most of his great victories! By the way, I am Tong, the mayor.” Michi and Rui traded bows with him. “I'm sorry to say that our great city has been blessed in many ways, but airbenders are not one of them.”

“Damn,” said Wu Rui flatly.

“Quite right,” said Tong, then turned to Michi, quietly: “As for the other news, while I'm sure everyone appreciates them and I don't know how you do things in a pirate-hunting fleet, here on land we leave the important matters to _private_ discussions between the leadership.”

“You are correct, of course,” said she. “ _Isn't that right,_ Master Wu?”

The airbender made to scratch his jaw, but stopped just in time and contented himself to a throat clear.

“Alright, let's get out of the middle of the street,” said Tong. “The Avatar floats are coming.” Michi and Wu both wondered at the loathing in his voice, but they followed him; three wooden statues, much taller than anything else in town, were being pushed in on sturdy carts. Like the mayor, most people joined up in a large throng of people standing opposite the road to the shrine and looking up at the Kyoshi effigy, first in line, as it arrived. Men brought in wooden buckets, filled with water.

Tong wanted to stop in the front row, but the two bending masters at his sides exchanged quick glances and gently but firmly pushed him on.

“Safest to be backed into a wall, Mayor,” said Wu.

“If I'm here, other assassins are not out of the question,” Michi added.

Tong's eyes finally widened, but he kept his voice low: “Did you just say _other_ assassins? Wait, that's right – you killed the last Earth King, right?”

“Among others,” said Michi. “Will it be a problem?”

Tong gulped and pulled at his collar: “No, um, not at all, Milady. We didn't waste any love on _him,_ I assure you.”

His voice was quivering more than usual, but there was a vehemence in it that rang of truth. Michi smiled: “Excellent.”

 

Aang and the others had found places to the side. Katara saw the incoming statues first: “Look, here comes a Kyoshi float!”

“And Avatar Roku is next,” said Sokka, as the old man in red robes peaked out behind Kyoshi's huge shoulder. He held out the bag of hot, freshly fried pastries for Junjie and Insun, who each took one.

“Thanks, this is quite tasty,” said Insun, nibbling at the edge of her pastry.

“It's great to have a huge festival in your honour,” said Aang, who seemed happy again; “but honestly, it's nice just to be appreciated.”

“And it's nice to appreciate their deep-fried festival food,” said Sokka and dug in voraciously.

“Right you are; these are great,” said Junjie and wolfed down the pastry. “Wonder why they'd have an Avatar day in _Chin_ of all places,” he mumbled with his mouth full. Sokka held out the back for him without a thought and he took another one.

Insun elbowed him in the rib, but then she pinched her chin: “It _is_ strange, though.”

“Hey, look!” Katara said excitedly and pointed behind Roku's shoulder.

Aang was the first to do so: “Whoa, that's the biggest me I've ever seen!”

It was, too; the final effigy was of him, minus gloves and hat, carrying two white ceremonial lamps.

Junjie swallowed his food and appraised the giant Aang's face critically: “I don't know, they made you look kinda... _manic_.”

“It's okay,” said Aang, then grinned cheekily: “I'll bet you're just jealous they didn't make a statue of _you_.”

Junjie laughed: “You pulling my leg? If they did my proportions right it'd just collapse under its own weight, I'm too skinny even in this robe!”

Indeed, even the loose Fuhe-Sida official's robe did little to disguise how gangly he was. Everyone but Niyok laughed at that; she only indulged in a small smile. The three statues were arranged neatly by their teams, shoulder to shoulder, with Roku in the middle, right in the plaza's centre, then their handlers moved into the crowd.

Almost at once, Niyok's smile turned to a frown. She bumped Katara's arm with her hip and pointed at a man in nothing but a ceremonial kilt, who was running with a torch.

“Oh, a torch!” said Sokka. “That's a nice prop! It's bright, dangerous...” he breathed in the smoke of burning resin as the runner passed him: “...Smells manly, but I'm not sure I could carry it off.” He bit down on another pastry.

“Of course not,” said Junjie, with a half-grin. “Your hair is too short.”

Apart from a physique worth showing off, the runner had an impressive lock of hair, almost as long as the firebender's own. He ran the fire in a half-circle, in front of the whole crowd, drawing cheers and clapping, before he rounded back to run straight at the Kyoshi statue from behind.

“Hey, what's that guy – doing?” Katara asked. As she did, the runner vaulted straight through the green base of the statue, screaming and leaving a large flaming hole in his wake.

As he back-flipped onto the red cart bearing the Roku effigy, the crowd began to chant in one voice: “DOWN WITH THE AVATAR! DOWN WITH THE AVATAR!” Flames engulfed 'Kyoshi'; the runner set 'Roku' on fire.

Aang's group all looked at this in shock. Niyok scowled.

 

Michi and Wu Rui were staring too, but with narrow eyes. As soon as the chant began – Tong leading it shrilly at the top of his lungs' power, she leaned to say in his ear: “I've seen bravery in my time, but you guys are absolutely _insane_.”

“DOWN WITH – what? What do you mean?”

She only grinned and turned to the burning effigies: “I'll explain later. Let's enjoy the show.” Tom-Tom began to cry. Michi scowled at the people around her; a short, shrill growl slipped out. She rocked the baby, planted a few kisses on his face and shushed him successfully.

“Right, right,” said Tong. The runner had been trying to catch his eye; he stepped forward, followed by Rui and Michi, then nodded to the other man, who threw the torch right into 'Aang's' right eye.

The real Aang cringed hard at that, closing his corresponding eye.

The crowd's chant broke into angry, excited shouting and gesticulation; a few of the more zealous were even throwing things at the statues.

Katara ran out into the crowd. “Wait!” shouted Junjie and then Insun; Niyok just chased her, but when the young waterbender began to make all the water in the wooden buckets leap in long columns at the fires, she just stopped and turned toward the crowd, hand on the spigot of her goatskin.

“That party-pooper's ruining Avatar Day!” shouted a man, who was standing right where Katara had been.

“ _Silence!_ ” Junjie barked at him, and he backed down at once, raising hands in surrender.

But the crowd picked up his catcalls and Aang airbent himself up to the shoulder of his own statue, which continued to grin stiffly at the people who had cheered at the destruction of half its face. He removed his hat, showcasing his bald, arrow-decorated scalp: “That party-pooper is my _friend!_ ” he said defiantly.

Insun flew up after him at once, having to use her glider, landing on the statue's head. “Aang, you shouldn't have!” she said, so that only he can hear.

“What, stand up for my friend?”

“Niyok has that well in hand!” Nobody had dared take a single step toward Katara, with the scowling giant in the way, turning her glares on everyone.

 

“It's the Avatar himself!” gasped Tong, horrified.

“It's going to kill us all with its awesome Avatar powers!” screamed another man in the crowd.

Aang waved a hand in negation: “No, I... I'm not!”

The whole crowd gasped, many of them tripping; the man who'd yelled about awesome powers squealed in fright, fell and crawled away on all fours through the crowd. Aang looked at his hand, embarrassed, and tucked it away.

Tong had stood his ground, aware of the danger to his dignity should he appear cowardly in the presence of the mighty Lady Xiang and her friend the master airbender, whom she coaxed into linking arms.

“I suggest you leave,” he said snippily, waving away dismissively at Niyok, as Junjie, Katara, Sokka, San and Youa closed in to support the giant. Niyok gave a curt, inarticulate, throaty grunt at the gesture. Tong jumped back, but mastered himself: “You're not welcome here, Avatar!”

Katara stepped forward: “Why Not? Aang-”

“Let _me_ handle this,” Michi cut in with her most authoritative voice, stepping in between them along with Wu. She turned to the mayor: “Well, if you don't like the Avatar, don't worry: he has no business here. If everybody just _settles down_ I'll be happy to arrange getting him out of your hair, forthwith.”

Tong seemed to mull the problem over briefly, then gestured as to say “go right ahead.”

“Alright,” said Michi and turned to the Avatar, allowing Wu to do so in place. “Now then, Master Wu, where is your ship?”

“Kyoshi Island[2],” said he.

“Perfect. Now, I'll need to impose on you to send my baby back to the Kingdom, along with Insun and her betrothed. Ask however much you want, within reason, but please _don't_ deny me.”

“No problem,” he said. “If you want to pay, make it two gold Yuan for Miss Kong, but the babe goes free of charge and Sangok is paying me for Lee.”

“Thank you kindly. Now, onto the matter at hand: Avatar, why don't you to go to Kyoshi Island? It's just past the horizon; you'll probably find proper hospitality there.”

Aang looked up at her, face brightening like it always did when he heard something that sounded good to him.

“Not so fast!” Katara snapped with an angry swish of her hand. “You want us to leave this un-thawed[3]? Aang helps people wherever he goes and they make a festival against the Avatar and try to _kick him out?_ It's not right!”

Wu Rui raised an eyebrow: “So? It's their town.”

“Indeed,” said Michi.

Katara folded her arms: “Oh really? What if they were shouting 'down with Michi' or 'down with Master Wu?'”

“I'd just be off, report to the Feng King and advice him to send someone else,” said Michi. “If I had other important business here I'd see it through first; if my cover failed I'd just kill anyone who gets in my way.”

Wu Rui pointed at her: “What she said.”

“Wait, I do have important business here!” said Aang. “I have to convince these people that the Avatar is on their side!”

“I wonder how many of them you'll have to kill to get the rest to listen,” said Wu Rui, drawing a chuckle from Michi and smiles from Niyok and Junjie.

“Master Wu, that's just _crude!_ ” Insun admonished, but then she turned to Aang: “Still, they have a point. If these people want to shun you, that's their right, isn't it? You can't just _force_ everyone to like you _._ ”

“Alright, then how about some _basic civility?_ ” Katara demanded hotly.

“Heh, Sis got you there,” said Sokka. “Even your friend the scary, evil firebending assassin did a lot better at that.”

“Consider this your practical lesson in not taking civility for granted,” said Michi. “Just go with my plan, spare yourselves the inevitable headaches. If I remember my history right, this town was founded for a general who rebelled against the 36th Earth King[4], named Chin the Conqueror. Avatar Kyoshi slew him when-”

Tong, who had listened in, jabbed an accusatory finger at Aang's face: “That's right! She was his past life! She murdered our glorious leader, Chin the Great, in cold blood.”

“We utht to be a great thothiety before the Avatar killed our leader,” shouted a bent, dishevelled, bitter-sounding old man. _“Now_ look at uth!”

Aang cringed away from him with a gasp.

“Wait, are you saying that I really murdered their leader – you know, when I was Kyoshi?”

Michi chuckled at that: “When _you_ were Kyoshi? Don't be silly!”

“Um, hello? I'm the Avatar, of course I was-”

“Does the name _Koko_ mean anything to you?”

Aang, already taken aback by the unexpected attack on his identification with a past life, stood silent a good while before he could remember the right answer, let alone give it: “I – we met a young girl by that name on Kyoshi Island,” he said. “It was the first... populated place I visited after the Southern Water Tribe when Katara freed me from the ice.”

Insun gave a jolt: “Wait, wasn't Koko-”

Junjie cleared his throat very loudly to stop her, then winked at her and turned to face Tong: “Mayor?”

“Well of course, everyone knows Koko was that fiend's daughter,” he snapped angrily.

Aang's eyes bugged out: “I didn't know Kyoshi had a _daughter!_ ”

“So much for being her,” said Youa at once.

“Well, I-”

“Even if this boy is not Kyoshi, he seems very proud of carrying her blood-stained legacy,” Tong snapped, “and he and his friends spoiled our festival! We want them all out of here!”

“That's right!” the torch-bearer from before shouted, then the crowd joined in loudly. The noise made Tom-Tom start crying.

Michi pulled her hand off Wu Rui's, took a deep breath, then another, and shouted at the top of her voice: “STOP DISTURBING MY SON!”

The command cracked onto the burghers of Chin like a whip, and they cowered under it. Tong fell on his arse. Even Tom-Tom himself fell silent.

Niyok and Wu Rui grinned. _“Nice!”_ he sad.

Michi's snarling rage face melted slowly into her usual, pleasant smile. “Thank you kindly!” she said, then began to nozzle and kiss Tom-Tom: “There, there, you darling bundle of joy, you-”

For once she wasn't very receptive. “Mama _scary,_ ” he said.

“Of course, but Mama would never hurt _you!_ ” She tucked him under her chin and whispered: “Mama loves you too much. And if I fail again, Mama has good friends who love you too.”

 

Right after Michi created silence, Junjie turned to Katara, though speaking as much to Aang as to her: “Look, I didn't say anything before because it takes me some time to get these speeches right. So, then: I know how the kid feels. I've had whole villages chase me out with rocks and pitchforks, yelling 'firebender' and 'monster' at me. Can't let it get to you, you'll flip your shit!”

Insun gasped: _“Junjie!”_

“Sorry, dear,” he told her quickly in a cowed tone, then turned back, this time fully to Aang: “Anyway, I don't let it. I know I'm a good guy, swollen head, screw-ups and all! You think I could get the kindest, hottest[5] girl _alive,_ with a sharp mind in the bargain, to want to marry me otherwise?

“I'm sure you can survive without the approval of one random flyspeck Earth town. In the meantime we all have a lot of bigger priorities: war with my damned homeland, building up, a _million_ other items and tasks! For you, I'd guess the big one right now is to learn earthbending – and a _lot_ of other things. Lady Xiang is right to nag you about school, as annoying as she can get.

“Besides, this place isn't going anywhere. You can always come back later and sort things out if you want; meantime, how about we fetch that giant furball of yours, go to Kyoshi Island and start getting some _actual_ work done?”

Katara answered right away, starting with a very snippy first word: “That... actually made sense.”

“Alright,” said Aang. “Let's get out of here.”

“For the best,” said Sokka. “Even with tasty fried pastries this is by far the _worst_ place we've ever visited!”

“ _Don't do that,_ ” San said, jabbing an angry finger at him.

Almost at once everyone but Wu Rui (who was smirking), Katara, Aang and Tom-Tom, even Mayor Tong and the closest Chin locals, were staring crossly at him.

“What? What did I do?”

“You tempted fate, son,” said Wu, amused. “You _really_ don't want to do that.”

Sokka deflated: “Sorry. Bad habit.”

 

“Well, there you go,” said Michi. “We're leaving, just like you wanted.”

“Wait, we only wanted the Avatar to-”

“Can it, we're a busy bunch of bees....” said Wu, as they all passed him, once again following Niyok, who carved a wide path through the locals with the unspoken threat of her force alone.

“Just one thing, Lady Xiang,” said Insun. “What about the mission?”

“Oh, I believe I've seen enough _here,_ ” said Michi.

Niyok grunted in disgusted assent.

 

The people of Chin talked and mumbled among themselves in an unfriendly general tone as the whole group walked out of their town back the way they'd come, but none dared to raise a loud voice, not after their own heroine had, as they saw it, sided with the Avatar so dramatically.

 

Michi slid her free hand back onto the loop of Wu's forearm. Once they were well out of earshot of the town and the road leading to it, she began to look him up and down: “By the way, Master Wu, what's with the makeover? Before, I thought you always tried to appear as wild and dishevelled as possible, but now you're downright _handsome!_ ”

“Why, thank you,” said he, gratified. “If I'm going to start an airbending academy I've got to look the part of the respectable master, no? And you look great as always; even when you're not dolled up you look like you are.”

“Thank _you,_ ” said she, with a fetching blush and some batting of the eyelashes, which threw Tom-Tom into visible confusion.

“I'm hungry,” he said after a while.

“Right,” said Michi, lifting him up two-handed, the to Wu: “I have to do this; be right back!”

“Yes, of course,” said he, his thoughts turning to his many, disparate children. Taken together they'd have to travel enough to circle the world a good five times for a family reunion, no matter where it took place.

Michi rushed ahead of Niyok to breastfeed her son, followed quickly by Insun.

“Damn the distances, I'll have to bring all the kids together for a party when I open the academy,” Wu Rui thought aloud.

“ _About_ that,” said Aang, “when you were pitching airbending just now you talked about killing only with air-”

“Of course,” said Wu sternly over him, “but it's not something children should learn. I mean, those arrows are just a courtesy for the Avatar, right?”

“ _No,”_ Aang snapped. “I mastered only 35 of the 36 Circles of Airbending but I also invented a new technique, so it counted for the 36 th[6] and I got my tattoos; this was a few days before I even _knew_ I was the Avatar!”

“Alright, alright, I stand corrected,” said Wu, raising hands in surrender. “You wouldn't be the first prodigy I knew. Anyway, I don't even _use_ the Circles. A lot of airbending scrolls and books were preserved and I've... _acquired_ more than my fair share, but mostly my System's based on my experience in street fights and triad wars.” He grinned nastily and made a fist: “Airbenders won't be anyone's fools aymore!”

“No, no, that's not what airbending's all about! The Air Nomads always taught peace and harmony with-”

“Spare me that claptrap, kid! It doesn't help when you're in the shit, so I'm not going to bother any of my students with it.”

Junjie, missing the main object of his attention for the moment, had listened in and ran up to them, grinning: “Alright, you can stop arguing like an old married couple, you're _both_ right!”

The two airbenders turned around, though they kept marching forward in a huff. “What do you mean?” asked Aang.

“How do you mean?” Wu echoed at the same time.

“Better to say, you're right _together,_ ” said Junjie. “See, if you found two rival schools of airbending, you'll be competitors. That will force you both to improve airbending as a whole and do your best for your customers.”

Wu squinted: “Customers?”

“He means your students,” said Sokka flatly. Junjie nodded vigorously.

“I think he's got a point,” said Aang; “when I was at the temple it was almost unheard-of for new masters to get their arrows by inventing something new. Gyatso had to dig up some _really_ dusty scrolls to get – _oof!_ ”

Both he and Wu Rui crashed straight into Niyok's back and collapsed in a heap at Junjie's feet. The giant had just stopped abruptly; the two airbenders didn't even force a step forward.

“I'll airbend both your heads off,” she said. “Pay attention! There's a column heading for the town.” She took out all the water in her goatskin and formed it into a large, convex lens: “Fire Nation raiding party,” she said. “They're riding... what'd you call those big, bulky things with horns?”

Aang popped up and helped his newfound rival stand, receiving a nod of thanks for it.

“Komodo rhinos?” asked Junjie.

“Yeah, those,” said Niyok.

“Are they coming our way?” asked Sokka, hand on the boomerang.

“No, they're heading straight for Chin,” said Niyok.

“We have to help them!” shouted Katara. “The locals, I mean.”

“Fuck the locals, we have to crush the raiders,” said Niyok. “Michi, leave your boy with Insun and get yourself back here! We got a fight! Insun, take San, Youa and the kid into the woods, keep looking for Appa. Airbenders, get in your element and start the chaos! Everyone else, _with me!_ ”

That said, she began to run back toward the town.

Aang and Wu Rui mounted their gliders conventionally and raced ahead, neck and neck.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 1: Aang has overhanging sleeves, but better safe than sorry.  
> 2: Chin Town has no practicable shores; it's all sheer cliff from what I've seen.  
> 3: Head-canon Water Tribe slang for unresolved.  
> 4: 46th in canon, but that would mean an average of almost 70 years per king/queen between him and Kuei or a lot of very long interregnums.  
> 5: A much more comprehensive and respectable compliment for Fire Nationals.  
> 6: Airbending "master" implies, to me, someone who's expected to be able to teach it. By the 36 Circles I understand the theory and well-established practices of the art, what the Air Nomads considered necessary to have complete command (i.e. mastery) of the art. Hence the head-canon rule that inventing a cool new technique should only count against the one Circle Aang was missing when he got his arrows.


	24. Aang and Michi in accord... for once

“Let's do a quiet flyover, see what we're dealing with,” said Rui as he and Aang closed in on Chin again.

“Alright,” said the Avatar, and they both gained some altitude.

The “what” turned out to be a Komodo Rhino-riding troupe of several dozen[1] heavily armed Fire Nation men, most seedy and young, dressed and armoured to various degrees, but all in black and red with the Fire Nation's black flame strewn here and there. A well-built man in his prime led them; he had feathers in his ponytail, a sleeveless black boiled leather jack, matching bladed bracers and a long moustache and goatee.

“Alright, listen up, peasants!” he shouted in a hoarse voice as his troupe rode down the main street and the locals dispersed before them. “We're here to claim this town and everyone in it for the Firelord!” He came face to face with the three abandoned Avatar-effigies and held up an arm: “Halt here!” And quietly: “Kahchi, left, Yeh-Lu, right.”

A large, older man with a Guandao, a braided beard and a loose robe over his armour which made him look even bigger responded to the first name; another, covered from head to toe in steel and leather with not an inch of skin showing, to the second. Yeh-Lu was holding an explosive stick.

The three advanced slowly ahead of the others.

 

“I've heard about these losers,” said Wu Rui as this was happening. “They're called the Rough Rhinos; the feathered ponytail is a colonel named Mongke. Supposedly they're an elite troupe.” He chuckled: “ _Supposedly._ Go tell the others; I'm gonna play with them for a bit.”

“Wait, will you be safe? There's at least a hundred of them!”

“Don't worry about me; I don't plan on fighting them alone.”

Aang turned back: “Alright, if you know what you're doing...”

“Says the egg to the chicken,” Wu snapped back, but even a few seconds of flying in opposite directions were enough to put Aang out of hearing, at least of the hushed tones they had used. He groaned and swooped down.

 

Below, the three Rough Rhinos reached the floats. Mongke shouted again: “Alright, show me your leader so that I may” – he set fire to the effigy in front of him, while Kahchi collapsed his with two Guandao swipes and Yeh-Lu used his handheld bomb to destroy the last – “dethrone him!”

Many fleeing locals stopped in awed fright at their destruction. “That's him over there!” someone shouted, pointing out Tong, who stuck out like a sore thumb anyway.

The mayor yelped, but Wu landed between the pointing finger and the mayor then propped his glider in the narrow space between two stalls.

“Yep, I guess I'll do” he shouted to the Rough Rhinos.

“Hey, I'm the mayor here,” Tong snapped, briefly forgetting to fear for his life, but Wu reminded him at once:

“ _SHADDAP!”_

“Yes sir,” whimpered the mayor, backing away.

Mongke jeered: “I thought the Avatar was supposed to be a scrawny bald kid, not a scrawny old fart!”

Wu jeered right back, drawing his khukri: “This scrawny old fart is gonna tear that stupid grin off your face if you're man enough to face him!” In his mind, he was begging Mongke to accept, so he could both behead the Rough Rhinos and waste their time until the Avatar returned with the others.

“An empty taunt,” the colonel spat back. “Maybe I'll give you a chance one on one before we kill you – _if_ you come quietly!”

“Fucking smart-arse,” Wu muttered under his breath. Then loudly: “Clear on out of here, you coward! These people are descendants of General, uh, Chin the Conqueror and there's, like, five thousand of them – I won't even have to lift a finger, just kick back and watch them slaughter you morons with their kitchen knives!”

The crowd began to look at each other.

“Wait, is he talking about us?” asked a terrified woman, not far away from Wu. “We can't – I can't-”

Just about everyone else echoed her feeling. In mere moments, the crowd melted away from before the Rough Rhinos' faces, screaming in panic.

Mongke laughed: “So much for the legacy of Uh-Chin the Conqueror!”

Wu Rui face-palmed and shook his head, then recovered his glider: “Well, if these fools aren't with me, I'm not with them. Uh, have fun, I guess.”

“Hold it right there, airbender!” Kahchi bellowed, his deep, gravelly voice a good fit for his barrel chest, but neither his rapid charge nor his commander's fiery follow-up could come close to Wu, who gained altitude rapidly before plunging back down to be lost among the houses, and the Rhinos were left to refocus on the locals.

 

A couple minutes later, Wu met up with the others just outside the entrance to Chin: “Whoa, whoa, whoa, stop running!”

“What's the matter?” asked Katara quickly, catching a brief, cross stare from Michi.

“The locals are cowards, is what's the matter,” said Wu snidely. “They wouldn't stand up to the damned Rough Rhinos even with me in their midst!”

“What? Fucking rodents,” Niyok growled, balling her fists. Michi made to admonish her, but the giant stopped her with a look and a head-shake.

“I don't know,” said Katara. “These people are hardly warriors; you can't expect them to fight and die side by side with people like you.”

“I can and I do,” said Niyok vehemently, scowling as deeply as anyone present had ever seen her. Her face was flushing. “If it came to that even _Insun_ would rather die with her fingers in an invader's fucking throat, than allow her home or herself raped – and she's gentler than _him!”_ She jabbed a sausage of a finger at Aang's nose.

Everyone backed away from her wrath, except Michi, and even her explanation came in a slightly shaky voice: “Lady Lan does not, ah, _appreciate_ cowards.” Then she cleared her throat: “Alright, let's put the wall between ourselves and Mongke's _charming_ little group. Come, come, come; without a god for Aang to merge with I don't think even we want to fight all of the Rough Rhinos up front. Scoff all you like, Captain Wu, they're actually not half bad!”

“I didn't say anything,” said Wu, though he was grinning.

“Look, I know you guys think I should turn my back on these people but I'm still the Avatar; I can't do that, and I don't think any of us should! We've got six powerful benders here and Sokka's brain is worth at _least_ as much as one more – what does it say about _us,_ if we just turn our backs on a whole town just because we didn't like how they spoke to us and they can't defend themselves?”

Sokka, who was already whistling for Appa, scowled at that.

“It says we don't like our time wasted,” said Michi, as usual ready with an answer, as soon as he was finished. She put on a nasty little smile: “Then again, the Rough Rhinos need to be put in their place. They'll most likely want to spend the night at least inside this _lovely_ little town's buildings (and girls), so I propose we strike them then, with Captain Wu's crew if they're willing.”

He gave a start and waved his hands in negation: “I don't have enough people to take on the bloody Rough Rhinos, not even a night strike!”

“How many do you have?” Niyok demanded.

“Sixteen crew, ten of them real fighters, counting myself,” said Wu. When Niyok glowered, disbelieving, he shrugged: “The Howling Wind is a freighter; she's not even disguised as a Fire Nation warship anymore; I've put a crane in place of the catapult and got rid of their damned black flame!”

Michi squinted away her irritation: “Prince Sokka, how many Kyoshi Warriors did you say Suki was leading?”

“I didn't, but there were six.”

“So, that's at most twenty-one of us, probably a lot less.”

“Twenty- _two,”_ said Sokka.

Michi shook her head: “I discounted the Avatar: A night kill-raid is no place for a child, no matter how powerful! Bringing you, Katara and the Kyoshi Girls along would be bad enough.” She turned to Aang: “And make no mistake: if we go after the Rough Rhinos, we go to kill. Not only are we badly outnumbered, but handing them over to the locals solves nothing: either they'll escape again or suffer barbarous execution.” She explained the Chin justice system, with its arbitrary rules and Wheel of Punishment.

Wu confirmed it, having seen a supposed thief flogged to death not three days ago. “Bloody disgusting, and that's not something you'll hear me say a lot. If you ask me, even the Firelord's tyranny is an improvement on that,” he added.

“Can't you send a message to this Fuhe-Sida Kingdom of yours to send a couple of ships filled with warriors to take Chin back?” Sokka asked.

“That was my thought too,” said Michi. “Of course, we can also stay here and run a shadow war against the Rhinos over the next days or weeks. Time will be wasted, victory is _not_ certain, it's very unlikely that we will move many locals to join us and at least some of us _will_ be killed.”

“Then we should let them have this one, at least for now,” said Aang quietly; “I don't want another massacre, like in the North. Let's just leave.”

Niyok worked her jaw angrily, fists on hips, but made no comment.

“Hold on,” said Wu. He'd felt a tiny current in the air that went against the prevailing southbound breeze; it was the sort of thing only an airbender would notice. He and Aang looked that way in tandem; the old captain blanched: “Is that what I _think_ it is?”

“Yep, that's Appa, my sky bison partner,” said Aang.

Wu grinned: “Nice, but I'll bet you anything the Howling Wind will gain a cable[2] on him to every mile.”

The bison arrived to his companion's customary enthusiastic greeting, which he received with a pleased snort. San and Youa were very flat on the saddle, wide-eyed and stiff with terror, grasping its edges tightly, but Insun was sitting calmly in back, leaning on the supplies, with Tom-Tom in her lap; he was playing with her airbender's staff, making light of its awkward weight. Momo had circumspectly retreated onto his large friend's head.

With a curt “Excuse me” to the others, Michi immediately jumped onto the saddle to comfort her servants; they looked alive again after she rubbed their backs with draconic fire; then she attended to her son.

Soon, they were on the sheer lip of the cliff. To spare Appa as much weight as possible, only San, Youa, Tom-Tom and the supplies were left on his saddle.

Wu and Michi performed an acrobatic take-off on his glider, with her ending up holding his waist firmly from behind with both hands; Insun carried Junjie on the back of her glider, spinning, diving and looping all the way to his loudly whooped delight; Aang carried Sokka, who insisted on no aerial stunts and the two waterbenders simply jumped down the cliff, used the sea's water to cushion their falls and ice-surfed after the airbenders.

 

The Howling Wind was the only substantial ship off Kyoshi Island, sticking out like an ugly sore thumb in the middle of the mouth of its largest bay, the same where Aang, Sokka and Katara had landed half a year before and met the great Unagi (of which there was no sign) and the Kyoshi Warriors. Its crane held up the skeleton of an elephant koi; the crew were in the last stages of stripping off the meat, salting it and stowing it away in large kegs. A waterbender pulled up a large, sluggish wave to wash off blood.

“She _really_ needs a good coat of paint,” Wu said as he led the way in. “Some brass-work for sure, maybe even some bodywork?”

“I think you'll make it quite homely in no time, now that you aren't masquerading as a Fire Nation cruiser,” said Michi.

“Oh, we've already started! The crew holds were designed to pack away lots of sailors and soldiers in bunks like salted meat in a barrel, only stinkier; now, we've got twenty-two nice, roomy cabins, all the size of mine. Uh, that means only six guest cabins. Gonna have to do something about that, I guess...”

“Oh, no need,” said Michi. “Even if everybody spends the night on board, San, Youa, Insun and Junjie only need two, being couples, and after all the flirting I'm sure you won't mind if I share yours.” She looked back, then stood on her toes, nibbled his ear and slid one of her hands just a little lower: “Tom-Tom sleeps through most nights already; he won't miss me.”

Wu's face flushed and split in a massive grin, but he didn't falter: “Oh, I don't mind at all! I know to expect fighting women to know about living it up but it's still a bit of a surprise, coming from you!”

Michi looked back again as he descended for the landing: “Aang and Insun aren't flying in our wake; we were in private, but when we're not I _strongly_ prefer discretion.”

Wu literally wiped the grin off his own face, using a hand to drag it back down to a neutral expression. “Yes ma'am,” he said, then swooped lower than knee-height above the flat iron deck: “You go left, I, right – now!”

They jumped off the glider; Wu skidded to a halt and called back the glider into his hand, folding it at the same time; Michi rolled on the deck once before righting herself quickly.

The crew saluted their captain informally, some of them only waving their hands or giving him a simple “Hiya, Skipper!”

Used to hearing them mimic the Fire Navy's tight discipline, Michi's eyes widened, but she shook her head and waved it off.

“Hey, guys,” he called back; the sonorous captain's tone made Michi smile at the words. Two of the larger sailors were rolling the last meat barrel away; “I see you stripped down that big bastard already – nice work!”

Michi groaned, the sailors nodded and grinned; the waterbender from before poured another wave of saltwater over the last specks of blood.

She was a well-built woman in a Water Tribe under-parka robe which had lost its blue dye almost completely, but was impeccably clean and discreetly mended. Her head was shaved and decked out in red, black and white warpaint so that it looked as if her skin was see-through. Where her captain carried one khukri in his sash, she had two. “You want to keep the bones, Cap'n?” she asked in a middle-aged voice.

By way of answer, Wu pointed his thumb overboard and whistled; the crane swerved immediately, the hapless skeleton of the once-mighty fish dangling pathetically on it, still held together by its own cartilage; the crane's operator pulled a lever with the ring and pinky of his left hand and the whole thing crashed into the sea.

Then he saw that all of the sailors were armed and trying to hide their tension. “Don't worry, the others are my guests too; Tikaani, _do_ try not to kill them when they come aboard,” he said playfully. “Has the big monster – what's it called – given you any more attitude?”

“The Unagi,” said Tikaani, relaxing visibly, like all the others; “Don't worry, it's smart enough to respect Shingen's fire.” The crane operator, a swarthy, wiry young man with a huge, bushy black beard contrasting his neat, short head of hair, gave a couple of short, nasty laughs at that.

Then, Niyok and Katara jumped aboard; the sailors' eyes snapped that way, then quickly turned to where the other airbenders had landed and gasped when Appa landed heavily in the middle of the flat, open deck.

One of the sailors, a younger, almost exact replica of the captain, closed in with a nervous smile: “That's some guests you got there, Dad!”

“That's not all,” said the captain, grinning slyly. “That little monk there,” he gestured at Aang, “that's the Avatar himself!”

Now they were gasping in fright again. The younger Wu whispered: “I don't mean to tell you how to run your ship, but are you _sure_ it's alright to have that fleet-killer aboard? He's a bloody _monster!”_ He'd hissed the last word through his teeth, with an involuntary, brief dirty look at Aang, who'd heard it and stooped his head. Katara, who'd closed in, immediately put her hands protectively on his shoulders.

The captain noticed it all. “Jackass,” he snapped, then produced a key from a small pocket under his sash: “Go fetch the sword and the letter.”

His son snatched it: “Yes sir. Sorry!” and sped back toward the ship's tower.

Tikaani stepped forward, taking her hands off the khukris' hilts; Aang and Katara cringed away from her monstrous visage, which only widened her smile of gleaming teeth. She bowed casually: “Welcome aboard, in any case.”

“...Thanks,” said Katara, unconvinced.

“Let me just say, your war paint is _amazing,_ ” said Sokka, closing in and obviously eager to change the subject. “Also terrifying, but that's the whole point, right? Where'd you get such top-notch colours?”

“Heh, thanks! Had to scour half the world for skilled alchemists – and pay them through the _nose_ for ingredients and recipes.”

Katara pulled him back: “Anyway, we're going to catch up with Oyaji and the other villagers – including the _Kyoshi warriors?”_

“Oh, yes, right! Suki – uh, hi again. We need to go.”

“Let my crew take the supplies off that poor animal first,” said Wu; Appa brayed his appreciation. “I'll keep your stuff free until morning, if you like.”

“Appa needs to graze too,” said Aang.

“You heard the cap'n,” Tikaani roared; she climbed onto Appa's saddle without fear or hesitation and began to untie packs and hand them down. “Speaking of grazing, remember how we're out of vegetables? _Well,_ these bastards won't sell us any; say they've barely got anything left and they don't start harvesting anything substantial for at least ten bloody weeks!” She spat angrily with the wind; it went overboard. “Better luck with that town up the cliff?”

“Same damned excuse,” Wu growled. “But they got their just deserts: Fire Nation's there in force now.” Tikaani snarled at the mention of the Fire Nation. “No, there's too many,” Wu snapped. “We'd get eaten alive.”

Michi was amused-surprised at his anger: “Don't you know all the ground crops are harvested only in summer, this far south? I understand you're from deep inside the Earth Kingdom; what did your family do for food?”

“Well, _they_ farmed, but I never paid any attention to it,” said Wu. “By the time I was old enough to do any work, I was airbending well enough to be wherever I pleased; my parents lost control over me real early.”

“A shame they weren't airbenders as well,” said Michi.

“Oh, they had a good and long enough run, both lived into their sixties; I'm still not there. Why shame? Don't you like the way I turned out?”

Michi affected to consider him carefully: “Hmm... I don't know; still a diamond in the rough at your age?”

“Oh? What about _you,_ still a wisecrack at your age?”

She dusted her palms with a downright evil smile: “It's so much _fun_.”

He raised an eyebrow: “That's... a lot more revealing than you'd think.”

“She got you there,” said Junjie, and there was a good round of chuckling as Wu's son returned with the sword he'd been sent for and a sealed scroll. He paused in front of his father just long enough to hand him the key and ran on – to Niyok.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 1: The 5-man Rough Rhinos setup always bugged me, so I upped their numbers until I thought they might be a credible threat to a town like Chin (firebenders included, at least). With Aang still horrified at even the prospect of entering the Avatar State again, running away to fight another day is the best tactical option. There's another reason for it on top of the Rough Rhinos' numbers, only Aang's group doesn't know it...
> 
> 2: A tenth of a nautical mile. Wu is lucky Aang is not exactly a betting man at that point in his life...


End file.
